The Disability Advice Bureau Support Planning and Brokerage service can offer people with an individual budget help and guidance with putting together a support plan.

Getting a Budget

If you think you need social care services to meet your needs, you may be entitled to funding from the council to pay for the cost. The funding is known as an ‘individual budget’.  You can find out if you are eligible and get more information  by calling Ealing Council’s contact centre on 020 8825 8000.

If you are allocated an individual budget, you will need a support plan to say how your budget will meet your needs.  DAB employs trained support planners who can help you to write your support plan.

How to access DAB’s support planning and brokerage service

If you would like a DAB support planner to help you to write your plan and arrange services, inform your care manager and they will take this into consideration when they allocate a support planner.

What you can expect from a DAB support planner?

• All of DAB’s support planners have received training provided by the National Brokerage Network
• We have been supporting people to write support plans since Ealing’s pilot project in 2010
• DAB can provide support planning assistance for people who have a wide range of needs including learning disabilities, physical disabilities, older people, people with mental health needs, people with autistic spectrum conditions and people who have sensory impairments.
• DAB support planners are familiar with Ealing and the neighbouring boroughs.
• DAB support planners will use the most appropriate tools to develop a plan that is relevant to you and written in a way that you can understand or relate to.
• If required, DAB support planners can help you to employ your own personal assistants and carers.

How long can my support planner work with me?

If you are a resident of Ealing and have an individual budget the council will fund a total of 10 hours to develop a support plan. Once your plan has been approved, we can offer a maximum of 5 hours of follow up assistance. The hourly allocation includes travel, so you may prefer to meet your planner at their location to make the most of their time.

DAB can offer additional assistance over your allocated hours and is also open to non-Ealing residents, people who are full funders and self funders, however there is a charge of £20 per hour for support planning work.

Contact

For information about the DAB service, please call Matt Coulam on 07837 186 733 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

DAB Support Planning & Brokerage is provided by Ealing Mencap working in partnership with:

• ECIL
  CAPE
  Dementia Concern (formerly Alzheimer’s Concern Ealing)
  Support for Living