The Personal Social Services and Children’s Services (Direct Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004

Conditions in respect of direct payments

7.—(1) A direct payment shall be subject to the condition that the service in respect of which it is made shall not be secured from a person specified in paragraph (2) unless –

(a) in the case of the service mentioned in regulation 2(2)(a) or (b), the authority is satisfied that securing the service from such a person is necessary to meet satisfactorily the prescribed person’s need for that service;

(b) in the case of the service mentioned in regulation 2(2)(c), the authority is satisfied that securing the service from such a person is necessary for promoting the welfare of the child in need.

(2) The persons specified for the purposes of paragraph (1) are –

(a) the spouse of the prescribed person;

(b) a person who lives with the prescribed person as if his spouse;

(c) a person living in the same household as the prescribed person who is the prescribed person’s –

(i) parent or parent-in-law;

(ii) son or daughter;

(iii) son-in-law or daughter-in-law;

(iv) stepson or stepdaughter;

(v) brother or sister;

(vi) aunt or uncle; or

(vii) grandparent;

(d) the spouse of any person specified in sub-paragraph (c) who lives in the same household as the prescribed person;

(e) a person who lives with any person specified in sub-paragraph (c) as if that person’s spouse.

(3) Paragraph 2 (c)(ii) and (iii) do not apply in the case of a person mentioned in Article 19C(2)(c) of the Children Order.

(4) An authority may make a direct payment subject to the following conditions:

(a) that the payee shall not secure the relevant service from a particular person; and

(b) that the payee shall provide such information to the authority as it considers necessary in connection with the direct payment.