This is what social services have totally screwed over Zoey’s package with:
X 7 hours to be put aside / used for short breaks / days away
7 hours each week over the 20 weeks comes to a total of 140 hours for the year x £12 which equates to the sum of £1,680.00 This can be spent creatively but must meet Zoey’s needs/outcomes in term of developing independence and providing positive distance between Zoey and her family.
To my understanding it means that, each week of the 20 weeks Zoey is not at college, the wages of her PA can be used in a flexible fashion to best meet her requirements. In other words, they remain the wages of the PA but may, one week he works 20 hours meaning, the following week they have 36 hours to play with being 28+8 hours. No, apparently not. What they claim it means is, the first week he can work 20 hours but then, the cost of the second week which would be 28+8 would be, 28 hours in wages for the PA but those additional 8 hours should be converted into cash (£76.80) and cover expenses. The great delight of that is that, the PA still only does their standard hours but is, in theory at least, expected to work longer. It’s a little like you being contracted to work 35 hours a week but, when your company ask you to go for a weekend seminar, they also ask you to only work 20 hours for three weeks prior to the seminar so that the saving in your wage bill can be used for your expenses. Not only that, the time you are away you will only get your normal salary regardless of how much you work or how inconvenient it may be to you. Who the hell would agree to that? They are also not entirely clear how the figures add up because they still seem to think that it is quite reasonable that the PA would need to work additional hours yet, the core hours are totally taken up with other activities already. That means, the PA has a choice, get wages or have the expenses paid. Thing is, ‘I’ have to pay the expenses if social services don’t.
To make matters worse, they told me to employ a PA as of June 14th yet have not paid over any money to cover his wages for next week, they seriously expect me to find £700 to cover the costs and claim the money back when they eventually agree to pay up!
If this is not yet another example of Northampton Social Services cock up, I don’t know what is!
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