Direct paymentsBromley
Direct payments in Bromley
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. London Borough of Bromley says a direct payment can pay a self-employed carer. Below is what the council publishes about its rates and rules, and what an hour of care costs near you.
357 self-employed carers within about 45 minutes of Bromley
An hour of care in Bromley
- A self-employed carer near youTypical rate on PrimeCarers, our fee included
- £20.00
- Local home care agenciesMedian of 76 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 Bromley
London Borough of Bromley 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 76 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. London Borough of Bromley 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 Bromley
London Borough of Bromley allows a direct payment to pay a self-employed carer. DD Payroll Services, which the council works with through The Disability Syndicate, provides managed account services such as payment of care agency invoices, self employed personal assistant (PA) invoices and care expenses.
“DD Payroll provide managed account services such as payment of care agency invoices, self employed personal assistant (PA) invoices and care expenses.”
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 Bromley
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
The usual method is a prepaid card account opened by the council, which the person uses like a bank account to pay for agreed care and support.
How the money is paid: Managed account
People employing a personal assistant can have the money paid into a managed account so that payroll and payments are handled for them.
Provider: DD Payroll Services
How the money is paid: Separate bank account
A separate bank account opened by the person is not normally used for ongoing direct payments, but may be used for a one-off payment.
Help with running it
The Disability Syndicate (Blue Sky Brokers and DD Payroll Services). The council works with The Disability Syndicate, a direct payment support agency that is home to Blue Sky Brokers and DD Payroll Services. Blue Sky Brokers helps identify and take on a personal assistant or service, provides contracts and makes sure payroll and insurance are in place, while DD Payroll provides managed account, payroll and pension services.
Visit The Disability Syndicate (Blue Sky Brokers and DD Payroll Services)
Where the council points you to find a personal assistant
Worth knowing
The council pays the money into a nominated direct payment account every four weeks, and you will need to pay any contribution required.
Worth knowing
The council pays for the first year of your insurance, and later years should be paid for from the direct payment because of the contingency funds that would have developed.
Worth knowing
A relative or friend who lives in the same household can normally only be paid from the direct payment if the council agrees in writing.
Who is available
Self-employed carers in Bromley
357 carers are based within about 45 minutes of Bromley. You can see their rates and experience, and message them, before committing to anything.
357 private carers are based within about 45 minutes of Bromley
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 BromleyIn their words
Families near Bromley on the carers they chose
“Michele is very professional and efficient and the great thing is that she combines it with such a calm and caring approach that the client feels relaxed and totally confident”
Muriel S., 2020
About Michele W.Carer · 3 reviews“Racheal is a very kind and caring person. Looks after my dad with genuine concern and care.”
Chloe H., 2020
About Racheal A.Carer based in Croydon · 2 reviews“It made our difficult lives so much easier and in fact it gave a quality to my mum's life inspite of how advanced her condition was towards the end.”
Alison C., 2026
About Sandra M.Carer based in Greater 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 Bromley
Yes. DD Payroll Services, which the council works with through The Disability Syndicate, provides managed account services such as payment of care agency invoices, self employed personal assistant (PA) invoices and care expenses. The checks a council asks for are usually the carer's employment status for tax, their insurance and their DBS certificate. Carers on PrimeCarers are self-employed, hold an enhanced DBS and are insured while they work, and they invoice for the hours worked.
We could not find a rate that London Borough of Bromley 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.
London Borough of Bromley's direct payments team on 020 8461 7276 or at [email protected]. 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 Lewisham
- Direct payments in Bexley
- Direct payments in Greenwich
- Direct payments in Croydon
- Direct payments in Southwark
- Direct payments in Lambeth
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 Bromley that is NHS South East London.
Council details were read from London Borough of Bromley'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 76 agencies near Bromley that publish a price. Carer rates are what carers near you advertise, read live.
Find a carer in Bromley
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.