Longer-term support and personal budgets

This page is for people who need longer-term social care. It explains how you can plan your care and support using a personal budget.

A personal budget is money from the council for meeting your social care needs. Personal budgets are a way of getting social care that lets you choose support that is right for you.

Personal budgets might be new to you, but you will not be left to manage on your own. We can support you every step of the way.

To find out more about download the personal budgets booklet or watch the videos below.

To get a personal budget, you need to be an adult aged over 18, living in Tower Hamlets and have eligible social care needs.

We will tell you how much money we think could be the right amount to meet your social care needs. We call this amount an estimated budget.

Once we have told you your estimated budget the next step is to plan your support. We call this support planning.

Once your support plan is agreed and you have your personal budget, the process of buying and getting the support you need to live your life can start.

Making a support plan

Your support plan outlines how you will spend your personal budget to meet your needs. Your support plan must show exactly how you want to spend your personal budget, and how you wish to receive it.

The booklet ‘making my support plan’, available to download here, is a step by step guide to making a support plan.

The agreement will be between you, the council and anyone else you would like to be involved.

Your support plan must say:

1. What is important to you
2. What you want to change in your life
3. How you will arrange your support
4. How you will spend your money
5. How you will manage your support
6. How you will stay in control
7. What you want to do next (Action Plan)

The support that you choose should be:

• Safe
• Work well for you
• Within your budget
• Legal

To find out about services available in your local area that you can buy with a personal budget, you can visit our Community Catalogue at www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/communitycatalogue

Or phone our First Response Team on 0300 303 6070.