Direct paymentsEnfield
Direct payments in Enfield
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.
290 self-employed carers within about 45 minutes of Enfield
An hour of care in Enfield
- A self-employed carer near youTypical rate on PrimeCarers, our fee included
- £19.50
- Local home care agenciesMedian of 78 agencies nearby that publish a price
- £24.95
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 Enfield
London Borough of Enfield 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 £19.50 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 £24.95 an hour. The median published by 78 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 Enfield 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 Enfield
Direct payments in Enfield 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 London Borough of Enfield'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.
Who is available
Self-employed carers in Enfield
290 carers are based within about 45 minutes of Enfield. You can see their rates and experience, and message them, before committing to anything.
290 private carers are based within about 45 minutes of Enfield
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 EnfieldIn their words
Families near Enfield on the carers they chose
“Monique is calm and approachable, instinctively knowing when to provide a listening ear.”
Sally L., 2025
About Monique Marie Pascale C.Carer based in London · 4 reviews“I found this "Talking Therapy" very uplifting and very therapeutic.”
Louis L., 2020
About Edward K.Carer based in London · 3 reviews“She looked after my mother to the highest standards and helped nurse her back to full health.”
Fiona K., 2022
About Sherry O.Carer · 2 reviews“She is reliable and caring, she pays attention and learns quickly... I recommend her unreservedly she is brilliant!”
Karen O., 2022
About Helen D.Carer based in London“Adiam is very warm and caring, highly experienced and great with my mum- she is understanding about her hearing difficulties and is clear at communicating with her.”
Laura S., 2022
About Adiam R.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 Enfield
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 London Borough of Enfield'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 London Borough of Enfield 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 £19.50 an hour against £24.95 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.
Start with London Borough of Enfield's adult social care team. If you do not have a care assessment yet, ask for a needs assessment first.
Direct payments in nearby council areas
- Direct payments in Haringey
- Direct payments in Hackney
- Direct payments in Islington
- Direct payments in Camden
- Direct payments in Redbridge
- Direct payments in City of London
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 Enfield that is NHS West and North London.
Council details were read from London Borough of Enfield'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 78 agencies near Enfield that publish a price. Carer rates are what carers near you advertise, read live.
Find a carer in Enfield
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.