Council and democracy

How do individual budgets work?

If you are eligible for help from Hertfordshire County Council’s Adult Care Services, you will be referred to a care manager who will guide you through the individual budget process.

You can complete the needs assessment questionnaire yourself, or your social worker will help you. This will tell us about you and your needs and requirements. We will ask you questions about your personal care needs, how you manage day to day, and how you live your life.

Based on this assessment we calculate an estimated sum of money which you can use on your care and support needs. This is called an indicative amount.

Your social worker will then help you to draw up an agreed support plan, within the limits of this indicative amount. This enables you and those around you to consider what you want to achieve and how you want to live your life.

The final amount of your individual budget will be agreed once you have a support plan that meets your identified support needs.