Personal Budgets

What is a personal budget?

A personal budget is money that a person aged 18 or over may be allocated for their care and support following:


A personal budget is not a personal income and can only be spent on your agreed support plan.

It won't affect any benefits you receive.

It puts you in charge of managing your care and support needs. You can choose how to spend the money on the services you want to help meet your assessed needs.

You can choose to have either a cash budget or a managed budget  

Cash budget


A cash budget puts you or your representative in charge of managing your care package. You can recruit and pay for carers and decide whether to use an agency or a friend or family member who doesn't live with you and isn't your main carer.  This gives you more control and flexibility over the care and support services you choose.

You can find more information in the leaflet below:


Cash Budget Handbook

What is a cash budget - Easy Read Guide

Managed budget


A managed budget is where the council works with you to manage your care and support costs.

What can I spend my personal budget on?

You can use your personal budget for:

  • Services you receive to meet your care and support needs
  • Paying someone to support you - employing a personal assistant (PA)
  • Services or equipment to support you to live at home independently
  • Paying someone to support you to attend local leisure activities
  • Respite care - to give you and your carers a short break
  • A carer to support you to go on holiday

You cannot use your personal budget for:

  • Employing a family member or someone who lives in the same household as you to provide you with support
  • Everyday living costs. such as household bills, which you'd normally pay for with other sources of income
  • Alcohol, cigarettes or tobacco
  • Food and drink
  • Health needs (including NHS treatment) and transport to access health care
  • Gambling
  • Anything illegal

How do I arrange my own care and support?

If you're not eligible for support from the council, or don't want to have a care assessment or financial assessment, you can visit Our Rochdale service directory  for advice on how to make your own arrangements and to view Adult Cares preferred providers.  

Related pages

Privacy notice