Direct paymentsYork
Direct payments in York
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.
14 self-employed carers within about 45 minutes of York
What the council pays
Direct payment rates in York
City of York 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.
Choosing your carer
Paying a self-employed carer in York
Direct payments in York 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 City of York Council'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.
The council's arrangements
How direct payments are run in York
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: Other arrangement
The council can set up an online direct payment account in your name, which reduces the amount of information you need to give the council when it audits your account.
How the money is paid: Separate bank account
Alternatively the money is paid into a separate bank account that you or your representative manage and that is used only for care costs.
How the money is paid: Managed account
Either type of account can be run for you by one of the council's accredited direct payment support providers, who then deal with the council's paperwork.
How the money is paid: Prepaid card
The council's list of accredited support providers describes payments to care agencies being released from the customer's Cashplus account or from a designated direct payment bank account.
Provider: Cashplus
Worth knowing
The council says its direct payment offer is under review and that it hopes to update the information in 2026, so some details may change.
Worth knowing
If you use one of the council's accredited direct payment support providers for help such as payroll, recruitment or managing your account, the council adds money to your direct payment to cover that support.
Worth knowing
You may hold up to four weeks of funding in your direct payment account, on top of money set aside for holiday pay, insurance and unpaid wages or invoices.
Who is available
Self-employed carers in York
14 carers are based within about 45 minutes of York. You can see their rates and experience, and message them, before committing to anything.
14 private carers are based within about 45 minutes of York
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 YorkStep 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 York
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 City of York Council'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 City of York 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.
It depends on the rate the council used. Carers near you typically charge £20.00 an hour. Divide your weekly budget by that to see the hours it buys, and remember that bank holidays are charged at one and a half times the usual rate.
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.
City of York Council's direct payments team on 01904 551550 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 Yorkshire
- Direct payments in Leeds
- Direct payments in Wakefield
- Direct payments in East Riding of Yorkshire
- Direct payments in Doncaster
- Direct payments in Bradford
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 York that is NHS Humber and North Yorkshire.
Council details were read from City of York 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. Carer rates are what carers near you advertise, read live.
Find a carer in York
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.