Our Independence Support Service is on hand to give you guidance and advice to manage your direct payments or personal budget, enabling you to gain confidence in managing your care and support. It is important that you remain in control ('self-directed' support), but that we are here to give guidance as and when you require it.

Our Support and Training Advisors work with you offering a wide range of services to which enable you to make decisions and choices to meet your care and support needs.

All our staff have experience of direct payments and working with our direct payments customers; this includes:

• Supporting customers to manage their direct payments or budget
• Working with customers to choose an agency and recruit agency staff
• Supporting customers to directly recruit personal assistants, this includes guidance with placing adverts, writing interview questions and interviewing.
• Training customers on employment issues such as writing contracts, undertaking one to ones with staff, risk assessments etc.
• Helping customers think about a contingency plan (ie what to do if their personal assistant becomes unwell and cover is required).
• Supporting customers to think about their direct payments or personal budget and how they will spend it (giving options and choices).

For more information or to get in touch with one of our Support and Training Advisors tel: 020 8770-4045, minicom: 020 8770-4046 or email: iss@scill.org.uk

You can also complete an email enquiry form using the 'contact us' button on this website.