How to use your direct payment for a holiday

Direct payments are one of the most useful tools available to people with disabilities managing their own care – but they are also one of the most misunderstood when it comes to holidays. The question of whether you can use a direct payment to fund a holiday stay comes up constantly. The honest answer is: it depends, and the details matter.

This article explains how direct payments work in practice, what they can and cannot cover, and what to discuss with your social worker or care coordinator if you are thinking about using care funding towards a break.

What direct payments are

A direct payment is money from your local authority paid directly to you so that you can arrange your own care and support, instead of the council arranging services on your behalf. In Kent, this typically comes via the Kent Card – a dedicated account used only for care spending.

To receive direct payments, you need a formal care and support needs assessment. The council calculates your eligible needs, works out a personal budget, and assesses what you need to contribute. The direct payment covers the remaining care cost.

Crucially, direct payments must be spent on what is agreed in your care and support plan. You need to keep records and account for how the money is used. Spending it on something outside your plan is not permitted.

What direct payments can fund – and what they cannot

Direct payments can be used to employ a personal assistant, pay a care agency, cover support during activities, and in some cases fund short break placements. What they generally cannot be used for is the cost of accommodation itself – the holiday cottage, hotel room, or residential placement fee as a property cost.

This is the distinction that catches people out. The direct payment funds the care, not the venue where care is delivered.

What this means in practice:

• You can use direct payments to pay your personal assistant to accompany you on holiday. If your care plan includes PA support, that support travels with you. Your PA’s wages, travel costs, and any agreed expenses during the holiday can come from your direct payment.
• You can use direct payments to pay a care agency to provide support during your stay, if that agency is approved under your plan.
• The accommodation itself – the self-catering property, cottage, or adapted room – is usually a separate cost that you fund privately or through a different funding route.

Some local authorities do fund short break placements that include accommodation as part of the arrangement. This is a separate provision from the standard direct payment, and whether it applies to your situation depends on your individual assessment and local authority policy. It is worth asking specifically about short break provisions, not just direct payments.

Short breaks: a separate pathway

Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities have a duty to support carers and people with disabilities, including through short breaks. In Kent, this sits within adult social care and is arranged through your care manager or community support team.

Short break support is different from your ongoing direct payment. Some people receive a dedicated short breaks budget annually; others negotiate care support during an independently booked stay as part of their existing care plan. What is available depends on your assessed needs and local provision – it is not automatic.

If you are interested in using care funding towards a break, the specific question to raise with your social worker is: “Can short breaks or respite-style stays be included in my support plan, and what would the council need to approve that?”

The answer will depend on your situation, but asking the right question gets you much further than asking the wrong one.

NHS Continuing Healthcare and personal health budgets

If you receive NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC), you have a legal right to a personal health budget. This is an amount of NHS money allocated to support your health needs, and it can be used to cover the care element of a stay away from home – including a holiday.

The accommodation cost still needs to be covered separately, but your personal health budget can fund the nursing or personal care support you need during a trip. People with CHC who take their personal health budget as a direct payment have the most flexibility over where and how that care is delivered.

If you are on a CHC package and have not explored personal health budgets, your CHC coordinator or ICB is the right starting point. Our funding and support page covers this in more detail alongside other pathways.

What to bring to the conversation

If you want to use any form of care funding towards a holiday stay, preparation helps. Before approaching your social worker or commissioner:

• Know what you need: access requirements, dates, who is travelling, whether you need support in the property or just during activities.
• Have details of the property you are considering – access statement, equipment list, room dimensions. Commissioners and social workers often need this to approve a funded placement or support plan inclusion.
• Be clear about what you are asking them to fund – the care support during the stay, not the accommodation itself.
• Ask about short break provisions in your area specifically, not just your standard direct payment.

Restwell can provide a full property specification, access statement, and supporting documentation to help with funding conversations. If you are at this stage, review the property page or get in touch and we will provide what you need.

How to find out what applies to your situation

In practice, the majority of Restwell guests who use care funding self-fund the accommodation and use direct payments or their personal health budget to cover their personal assistant or carer’s time during the stay. The property cost and the care cost are treated separately, which keeps both simpler.

If cost is a barrier to the accommodation itself, it is worth checking whether you might be eligible for a Revitalise Support Fund grant – the Revitalise charity now operates as a grants provider for people with disabilities and carers who cannot afford a break. Applications are open year-round at revitalise.org.uk.

For more on funding routes, see our funding and support hub and the FAQ section on funded stays. When you have a clearer picture, check who Restwell is for and get in touch to discuss your situation.

If you are an unpaid carer looking at taking a break, our carers’ respite holiday guide covers your legal rights to a carer’s assessment and what support KCC may provide.