Direct paymentsRutland
Direct payments in Rutland
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. Rutland County 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.
19 self-employed carers within about 45 minutes of Rutland
An hour of care in Rutland
- A self-employed carer near youTypical rate on PrimeCarers, our fee included
- £20.00
- Local home care agenciesMedian of 11 agencies nearby that publish a price
- £23.92
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 Rutland
These are the rates Rutland County Council publishes for direct payments, with a link to where each one appears. Your budget is set in your support plan and can differ from them.
| What the rate is for | Rate | Applies | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hourly direct payment rate for employing a personal assistantOlder figure | £15.00 an hour | from April 2023 | rutlandcounty.moderngov.co.uk |
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 PrimeCarers11.5 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 agency9.5 hours
At £23.92 an hour. The median published by 11 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. Rutland County 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 Rutland
Rutland County Council allows a direct payment to pay a self-employed carer, with conditions. A personal assistant paid from a direct payment can be directly employed by you or self-employed, and all self-employed personal assistants must provide proof of self-employment registration with HMRC.
“Personal assistants can be directly employed by the adult/family or self-employed. The self employed route is preferred by many as it can be easier for those needing support. All self employed personal assistants will need to provide proof of self-employment registration with HMRC.”
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 Rutland
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 council prefers to pay direct payments onto a prepaid card, which has no overdraft and does not allow cash withdrawals, so that transactions are recorded automatically.
How the money is paid: Separate bank account
You may instead open a separate bank account used only for the direct payment, but then you must send in statements, invoices and an expenditure form every three months.
How the money is paid: Managed account
If you cannot manage the money yourself, the council can arrange a managed account that is run on your behalf while you keep control of the support you buy.
Where the council points you to find a personal assistant
Worth knowing
Direct payments are paid every four weeks in advance and the council allows up to eight weeks of the allocated budget to stay in the account, with excess funds returned unless they are being saved for an agreed reason.
Worth knowing
A family member can only be paid from the direct payment in exceptional circumstances and the council must agree this before the support starts.
Worth knowing
The council may make an extra payment in the first year towards the cost of insurance when you employ a personal assistant, after which you are expected to build up funds in the account for future years.
Who is available
Self-employed carers in Rutland
19 carers are based within about 45 minutes of Rutland. You can see their rates and experience, and message them, before committing to anything.
19 private carers are based within about 45 minutes of Rutland
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 RutlandStep 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 Rutland
Yes. A personal assistant paid from a direct payment can be directly employed by you or self-employed, and all self-employed personal assistants must provide proof of self-employment registration with HMRC. 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 Rutland County 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 £23.92 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.
Rutland County Council's direct payments team on 01572 720958 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 North Northamptonshire
- Direct payments in Peterborough
- Direct payments in Nottingham
- Direct payments in West Northamptonshire
- Direct payments in Nottinghamshire
- Direct payments in Bedford
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 Rutland that is NHS Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.
Council details were read from Rutland County 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 11 agencies near Rutland that publish a price. Carer rates are what carers near you advertise, read live.
Find a carer in Rutland
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.