This is a fund designed to help people and carers make informed decisions and plans for their social care and work towards maximising their choice, control and flexibility over those arrangements.

VAS Carers Support were delighted to be part of a successful partnership bid with Shetland Community Connections. The VAS role within the partnership will be to offer independent advice and information regarding direct payments. They hope to assist carers in the setting up of direct payment packages, giving information, signposting, helping people find their way through becoming an employer, finding personal assistants, supporting them to purchase services and help to find ways to reduce stress of being an employer. This will be an independent service from the council and will empower people to have more choice and control over their own support.

VAS will also be able to look at training requirements for Personal Assistants and offer training to meet these needs.

VAS have offered a payroll service for direct payment clients for 10 years, but we are at capacity for this service and unable to take on new clients at the moment but we will continue to support people to find other providers, as many of the local accountants already offer this service.

Catherine Hughson Executive Officer of VAS “The new service will start from October and we are looking forward to being able to offer independent advice on direct payments, we feel it fits neatly within our existing carer support service although it is not exclusively for carers.”