Direct paymentsBrent
Direct payments in Brent
If the council has agreed to pay towards care at home, you can take the money as a direct payment and choose who provides the care. A direct payment can usually pay a self-employed carer, on the council's conditions. Below is what the council publishes about its rates and rules, and what an hour of care costs near you.
313 self-employed carers within about 45 minutes of Brent
An hour of care in Brent
- A self-employed carer near youTypical rate on PrimeCarers, our fee included
- £20.00
- Local home care agenciesMedian of 82 agencies nearby that publish a price
- £25.00
A budget worked out at the agency rate buys more hours from a self-employed carer. What a weekly budget buys each way is set out below.
What the council pays
Direct payment rates in Brent
Brent Council does not publish its direct payment rates anywhere we could find. Your budget is set in your support plan, from the cost of meeting your eligible needs less anything you are assessed to pay yourself. Ask the council which hourly rate it used, because that decides how many hours the budget buys.
Hours for the money
What a weekly budget buys
A direct payment is a sum of money, so the useful comparison is how many hours of care it pays for. Move the slider to your own weekly budget.
Starts at ten hours a week at the agency rate. Move it to match the budget in your support plan.
- A self-employed carer on PrimeCarers12.5 hours
At £20.00 an hour. The typical rate near you, our fee included. The carer invoices for the hours, and that invoice is your record for the council.
- A local home care agency10 hours
At £25.00 an hour. The median published by 82 agencies near you. The agency sends whoever is on its rota.
Hours are rounded down to the half hour. Bank holidays are charged at one and a half times a carer's rate and Christmas Day at twice, so leave room in the budget for them. Brent Council decides what your direct payment can be spent on, and your support plan is the final word.
Choosing your carer
Paying a self-employed carer in Brent
Direct payments in Brent work under the Care Act 2014. A direct payment can usually pay a self-employed carer your family has chosen, as well as a personal assistant you employ or an agency. We could not find Brent Council's own wording on self-employed carers, so ask the direct payments team what it wants to see before anyone starts.
Councils tend to ask for the same few things before a direct payment pays a self-employed carer:
- the carer's employment status for tax, which HMRC's Check Employment Status for Tax tool on gov.uk works out in a few minutes
- proof that the carer is insured
- a DBS certificate
- an invoice for the hours worked, which becomes your record of how the money was spent
How direct payments work covers asking for one, what the money can buy and the records councils want back, and self-employed carer or employee? explains the tax question.
The council's arrangements
How direct payments are run in Brent
What the council publishes about paying the money, getting help and getting in touch. Each card links to the page we checked it against.
How the money is paid: Prepaid card
Direct payments are paid into a Prepaid Financial Service account set up by the council, which is then used to pay for care and support.
Provider: Prepaid Financial Service (PFS)
How the money is paid: Managed account
A managed account is available where the council or a third party holds the money and pays the carers or services chosen by the person.
Provider: Brent Council or a third party
Help with running it
The Brent Direct Payment Service is free and can help you manage your direct payment account and your costs, as well as more practical things such as recruiting and employing staff, paying wages and sorting out Tax and National Insurance contributions.
Worth knowing
A direct payment in Brent can pay for short stays in a care home of up to four weeks a year, but not for long term residential care.
Worth knowing
If someone else, such as a friend or relative, is to manage the direct payment, Brent requires a trust to be set up.
Worth knowing
Brent does not normally allow a direct payment to employ someone who lives in the same household unless the council agrees it is necessary.
Who is available
Self-employed carers in Brent
313 carers are based within about 45 minutes of Brent. You can see their rates and experience, and message them, before committing to anything.
313 private carers are based within about 45 minutes of Brent
Filter by what they charge, who drives, who does nights, and who speaks your language, then message the ones you like. Free, and nothing is booked until you say so.
See private carers for BrentIn their words
Families near Brent on the carers they chose
“There are carers who simply perform tasks, and there are carers who truly care — Marise unquestionably belongs to the latter.”
Cath R., 2026
About Marise Martendal s.Carer based in Wembley“As well as helping him with household tasks and massaging his legs, she is also a wonderful companion: engaging him in conversation, playing games and even going on short outings.”
Gabi M., 2022
About Rochelle B.Carer based in London · 5 reviews“My disabled brother gets on well with her and looks forward to her visits. She is patient and a wonderful carer!”
Gabi M., 2021
About Kim L.Carer based in Edgware · 5 reviews“If you ask Jarmila to be your carer I guarantee you will be very happy to have her”
Silvia B., 2026
About Jarmila O.Carer based in Greater London · 3 reviews“Angela has been a godsend for our 96yr old mum. She is honest, kind, thoughtful and is a good time keeper”
Elaine P., 2025
About Angela s.Carer based in Edgware“She was very kind and loving and he adored her. Even when the dementia got very very bad she had a lot of patience.”
Marion L., 2024
About Husneara B.Carer based in LondonStep by step
Using a direct payment for a carer you choose
- Get the assessment and the support plan. The council assesses the care needed and works out the budget. Say at this stage that you want a direct payment and would like to choose your own carer.
- Check what the council allows. Ask the direct payments team whether it will pay a self-employed carer and what it needs to see from them.
- Find carers and talk to a few. Search carers near you, compare rates, experience and reviews, and message your shortlist. None of that costs anything.
- Agree the hours and rate in writing. Match them to the support plan, and keep within the budget once bank holidays are allowed for.
- Keep the records. Invoices and statements are what the council looks at when it reviews how the direct payment is being used.
Questions
Questions about direct payments in Brent
Usually, yes. A direct payment can pay a self-employed carer your family has chosen, employ a personal assistant, or buy agency hours. We could not find Brent Council's own wording on self-employed carers, so ask the direct payments team what checks it wants before anyone starts.
We could not find a rate that Brent Council publishes. The amount is set in your support plan, worked out from the cost of meeting your eligible needs, less anything the financial assessment says you pay yourself. Ask the council how it calculated the hourly figure, because that decides how many hours the budget buys.
Usually it buys more hours. Carers near you typically charge £20.00 an hour against £25.00 for agency care, so a budget worked out at the agency rate buys more hours from a self-employed carer.
In England a direct payment cannot normally pay the person’s husband, wife or partner, or a close relative who lives in the same household, unless the council considers it necessary. That is the direct payments regulations rather than this council's own rule, so ask the direct payments team how it applies it. Can my mum pay me to care for her? covers the other routes.
Only if you employ somebody. Paying a self-employed carer or an agency does not make anyone an employer. Taking on a personal assistant does, which brings payroll, holiday pay, sick pay, pension enrolment and employer's liability insurance. HMRC's Check Employment Status for Tax tool on gov.uk tells you which applies.
Brent Council's direct payments team on 020 8937 4010. If you do not have a social worker or care assessment yet, start with a needs assessment from adult social care.
Direct payments in nearby council areas
- Direct payments in Harrow
- Direct payments in Camden
- Direct payments in Kensington and Chelsea
- Direct payments in Westminster
- Direct payments in Hillingdon
- Direct payments in Islington
If the care needed is mainly about health, the NHS may pay for all of it through Continuing Healthcare, decided by the NHS rather than the council. In Brent that is NHS West and North London.
Council details were read from Brent Council's published pages and checked against them on 17 September 2026. Councils change their rates each April, so check the linked page before relying on a figure. The local agency figure is the median of 82 agencies near Brent that publish a price. Carer rates are what carers near you advertise, read live.
Find a carer in Brent
See self-employed carers near you with their hourly rates, experience and reviews, and talk to the ones you like for free. Check with the council what your direct payment can pay for before you book.