Direct Payments audit process

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About the process

As part of receiving Direct Payment Funding your Direct Payment Account is required to be audited on a regular basis. The audit process provides:

  • advice to help and support you to get the most out of the funds being provided
  • to use the funds in the appropriate way 
  • guard against any misuse of funds
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Types of account

Your Direct Payment funding must be paid into a dedicated bank account. There are several types of account.

Self-managed account

High street banks offer this type of Direct Payment bank account. It must be a separate account from your personal monies and be for the sole use of the Direct Payment.

A prepayment card account

This type of Direct Payment Account will be held with the current prepayment card provider nominated by us, Prepaid Financial Services (PFS). The Direct Payment Audit Team have online access to these accounts which can assist with the audit process.

Accountant administrated 

An accountant holds the funding on the service user’s behalf. However, the actual management of the funds and the care provision being provided is retained by yourself or your nominated ‘Direct Payment Suitable Person’.

Fully managed account

This type of Direct Payment Account is usually used when a service user lacks capacity to manage their own funding or the management of their care provision. A third-party management company both holds the Direct Payment bank account, manages the funds and also monitors and manages the care provision in place.

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Audit documentation

The Audit Team will write to you requesting information and documentation covering a specific period of time. For each item of expenditure from the Direct Payment funds, they will request evidence of spend, this will need to be provided in the form of:

  • copy bank statements (for the specified Direct Payment Bank account only) 
  • receipts
  • invoices
  • employee or personal assisstant wage slips
  • signing in and out sheets for each PA
  • payroll information and HMRC documentation

PFS (prepayment card)

The Direct Payment Audit Team has access to the PFS on-line accounts to directly view the bank statements showing payments made from the account.

A detailed list of transactions from the account will then be downloaded to an Audit Summary Sheet. This document will then be sent to you as a notification for you to provide documentation supporting all expenditure from the account. 

This step may not be necessary if you have chosen the option to upload copies of documentation to the PFS account, this option assists with the audit process and means your Audit Officer is able to complete the audit without requesting any assistance or documentation from yourself.

Accountant administrated

All documentation of spend from the Direct Payment account will be provided to us directly by the Accountant.

Fully managed accounts

All documentation of spend from the Direct Payment account will be provided to us electronically by the fully managed account provider.

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How to provide documentation

Documentation can be provided as hard paper copies or electronically when it is requested.

  • By post: Trafford BC Direct Payment Audit team, 2nd Floor Sale Waterside, Waterside House, Sale M33 7ZF 
  • By email: email the Audit Officer detailed on the Audit request letter or to Directpaymentsaudit@trafford.gov.uk
  • Digital upload for PFS accounts only: PFS documents can be uploaded to the card website

The requests sent for documentation allows 14 days for the return of the documentation. Reminders for information will be made every 14 days, if not received.

Following a third reminder, your Direct Payment Funding may be at risk of being suspended which could put your chosen care services at risk.

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The audit

Upon receipt of the documentation the auditor will crosscheck each item with the payments made from the Direct Payment account. A check will determine if your funding is being used in line with your support plan, such as the number of hours being used, rates being paid etc.

Checks will also be made to ensure all legal obligations are being fulfilled, for example HMRC payments being made compliantly. PA payroll payments made through a legitimate payroll company etc.

Any spend that has not been authorised through your care plan and pay calculation documentation provided by us could be considered to be a miss-spend and reclaimed by the Sundry Debtor Invoice process.

Direct Payment funding is paid ‘NET’ of community care client contribution charge.  A payment of the amount of this assessed contribution has to be made into the same Direct Payment account as the payments from us. 

Both of these payments being received into the same account ensures sufficient funds are available in the account to cover the weekly cost of the care plan. We monitor payments of community care client contribution charges to ensure the assessed contribution amount is being paid correctly.

Audit summary sheet

An audit summary sheet is completed by us for each audit completed. This will detail all the transactions, into and out of the account during the audit period in question, and also the amount of funding recommended to be retained in the account.

Usually a minimum of 6 - 8 weeks funding will be retained in the account together with any funding such as annual respite funding, which has not completely been fully utilised. Only unused, unrequired surplus funding will be reclaimed by us.

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DWP appointee

If an appointee has been appointed to deal with your DWP benefits, it is their responsibility to ensure that all community care client contribution charges have been paid into the direct payment account. If they fail to complete this duty, we may contact the DWP to advise that the duties are not being fulfilled and the appointeeship could be removed.  

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If payment is due

If it has been determined that you owe monies to the account yourself (for example, you have failed to pay the correct amount of community care client contributions charge) notification will be sent advising that the monies owed need to be paid into the account within 14 days.

If you feel you are unable to make payment of any required amount within the timeframe provided, contact us and the Direct Payment Audit Team can advise of other payment options available.

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Return of documents after the audit

Once the full audit of the account has been completed the auditor will return:

  • all documents provided
  • a copy of the audit summary sheet
  • a community care client contribution charge summary sheet 
  • covering letter

This letter will advise of any actions that are required, the next audit period and the next audit due date.

For Accountant administrated or fully managed accounts this will go to the service user or nominated Direct Payment Suitable Person.

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Surplus funds

Any surplus funds that are in the Direct Payment account following the completion of the audit process will be requested to be returned to us within 14 days of the audit completion. 

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Contact us

Contact us if you have any questions or queries.