Direct paymentsLuton
Direct payments in Luton
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. Luton Borough Council says a direct payment can pay a self-employed carer, with some checks first. Below is what the council publishes about its rates and rules, and what an hour of care costs near you.
152 self-employed carers within about 45 minutes of Luton
An hour of care in Luton
- A self-employed carer near youTypical rate on PrimeCarers, our fee included
- £19.20
- Local home care agenciesMedian of 19 agencies nearby that publish a price
- £29.00
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 Luton
Luton Borough 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 PrimeCarers15 hours
At £19.20 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 £29.00 an hour. The median published by 19 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. Luton Borough 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 Luton
Luton Borough Council allows a direct payment to pay a self-employed carer, with conditions. You can use a direct payment to pay a self-employed personal assistant, but you should first obtain a contract confirming they are self-employed, their Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) from HMRC, evidence of professional indemnity and public liability insurance and an enhanced DBS check, and complete the HMRC Employment Status Indicator tool to confirm employment status for tax purposes.
“Some PAs work as self-employed contractors rather than employees.”
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 Luton
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
Most people receive the direct payment on a pre-paid card, which works like a bank card and which you manage yourself.
How the money is paid: Managed account
If you need more support, you can have a managed bank account, where a provider manages the account and handles payroll.
Worth knowing
The council pays for the enhanced DBS check that each personal assistant needs, although you have to request the check yourself.
Worth knowing
The council's direct payments finance team monitors all accounts within 12 weeks of the first payment.
Who is available
Self-employed carers in Luton
152 carers are based within about 45 minutes of Luton. You can see their rates and experience, and message them, before committing to anything.
152 private carers are based within about 45 minutes of Luton
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 LutonIn their words
Families near Luton on the carers they chose
“She was proactive researching information to better care for him. She was always punctual and very flexible. I had complete confidence in her.”
Marian B., 2025
About Nhaida K.Carer based in Luton · 5 reviews“She has quickly adapted to his needs and he really enjoys being with her.”
Julie D., 2020
About Asma N.Carer based in Luton · 3 reviews“Eva supported my mother especially well for two years allowing my mother to continue to live, and pass away, in her own home as she wanted.”
David L., 2022
About Paraschiva C.Carer based in LutonStep 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 Luton
Yes. You can use a direct payment to pay a self-employed personal assistant, but you should first obtain a contract confirming they are self-employed, their Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) from HMRC, evidence of professional indemnity and public liability insurance and an enhanced DBS check, and complete the HMRC Employment Status Indicator tool to confirm employment status for tax purposes. 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 Luton Borough 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 £19.20 an hour against £29.00 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.
Start with Luton Borough Council's adult social care team, whose direct payments page has the current details. If you do not have a care assessment yet, ask for a needs assessment first.
Direct payments in nearby council areas
- Direct payments in Central Bedfordshire
- Direct payments in Hertfordshire
- Direct payments in Milton Keynes
- Direct payments in Bedford
- Direct payments in Buckinghamshire
- Direct payments in Harrow
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 Luton that is NHS Central East.
Council details were read from Luton Borough 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 19 agencies near Luton that publish a price. Carer rates are what carers near you advertise, read live.
Find a carer in Luton
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.