Direct paymentsNewham
Direct payments in Newham
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. Newham 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.
390 self-employed carers within about 45 minutes of Newham
An hour of care in Newham
- A self-employed carer near youTypical rate on PrimeCarers, our fee included
- £19.50
- Local home care agenciesMedian of 85 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 Newham
Newham 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 £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 £25.00 an hour. The median published by 85 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. Newham 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 Newham
Newham Council allows a direct payment to pay a self-employed carer, with conditions. A direct payment can pay a self-employed personal assistant, but you must be sure that HMRC has granted them self-employed status, otherwise you will be liable for their tax and National Insurance.
“If you do engage the services of a self-employed PA, you must be sure that they have been granted self-employment status by HMRC otherwise you will be liable for their tax and National Insurance.”
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 Newham
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: Separate bank account
Instead of the pre-paid card, the council can pay the agreed amount into a bank account kept only for the direct payment.
How the money is paid: Managed account
A third party organisation can receive and manage the payments on the person's behalf, which suits someone who can organise their own care but prefers not to handle the money.
Where the council points you to find a personal assistant
Worth knowing
An initial light-touch review takes place four to six weeks after direct payments start, then the arrangements are reviewed six months after the first payment and every twelve months after that if no further issues arise.
Worth knowing
Money is paid onto the pre-paid card account every four weeks, in advance of the care being arranged.
Worth knowing
A Legal Reward of up to £250 per resident in a given year can be paid from the direct payment, to comply with HMRC taxation law.
Who is available
Self-employed carers in Newham
390 carers are based within about 45 minutes of Newham. You can see their rates and experience, and message them, before committing to anything.
390 private carers are based within about 45 minutes of Newham
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 NewhamIn their words
Families near Newham on the carers they chose
“Gomes was fantastic looking after my Uncle with learning disabilities. He helped calm him and cook some great meals.”
Ollie R., 2023
About Gomes J.Carer based in London · 4 reviews“She is the most caring person I have ever met, so professional with every aspect of the job, she showed so much respect for her client”
Sally H., 2024
About Fatou J.Carer based in London“She treated my dad with dignity and patience, and her presence brought real peace of mind to our family during a challenging time.”
Steph F., 2025
About Paula M.Carer based in Barking · 2 reviewsStep 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 Newham
Yes. A direct payment can pay a self-employed personal assistant, but you must be sure that HMRC has granted them self-employed status, otherwise you will be liable for their tax and National Insurance. 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 Newham 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 £19.50 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.
Newham Council's direct payments team on 020 3373 4061 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 Redbridge
- Direct payments in Greenwich
- Direct payments in Barking and Dagenham
- Direct payments in Hackney
- Direct payments in City of London
- Direct payments in Southwark
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 Newham that is NHS North East London.
Council details were read from Newham 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 85 agencies near Newham that publish a price. Carer rates are what carers near you advertise, read live.
Find a carer in Newham
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.