Finances

If the person has the mental capacity to manage their finances and has their own bank account, staff may need to support them to get to the bank so they can withdraw some, or all, of their money when they want to. Alternatively, an Appointee could provide the service with cash.

If the person lacks the capacity to make financial decisions, they should not have their own bank account unless it is being fully managed by a Lasting Power of Attorney or Deputy. Either way, they will not have direct access to their money.

There is likely to be one of 2 options available for accessing the person’s money:

1. An Appointee, Lasting Power of Attorney or Deputy will provide money in cash form;
2. An Appointee, Lasting Power of Attorney or Deputy will transfer the money into an account belonging to the service. The service will then need to withdraw the funds as and when needed by the person.

If a person lacks capacity to manage their finances and there is no Appointee, Lasting Power of Attorney or Deputy, the registered person should notify the local authority. They will be able to consider whether to make an application to the Court of Protection to become a Corporate Deputy.

Under no circumstances should the service or any manager/staff member make an application to become a Deputy.

If the person has the capacity to make decisions about finances, they can decide where they would like to keep their cash and any bank cards. Any potential risk of theft from another person using the service should be explained to them, so that they can consider this as part of their decision-making process. If the person wishes to keep their cash and/or bank cards in the services safe, this should be accommodated. They must be granted access to them whenever they request it.

If the person lacks the capacity to decide where to store their cash, and there is no way of storing it securely in their room, it would normally be in their best interests to keep it in the services safe. 

Money in the safe should be clearly labelled so it is clear who it belongs to. If possible, the service should avoid storing large quantities of money in the safe as this increases the risk of financial anomalies.

Only the registered person and managers should have access to the safe. This can be delegated to a responsible member of staff if appropriate. For example, if it is known that the person is going to want to access their cash at a time when a safe keyholder is not available.

If the person has the mental capacity to make decisions about how to spend their money, they must always be permitted and supported to do so. They may need some support to get to a shop or to access online banking facilities/shopping.

If the person lacks the capacity to make spending decisions, these must be made in their best interests by applying the principle of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. If there is a Lasting Power of Attorney or Deputy appointed to make financial decisions, they are responsible for doing this. Any decision that they make about how to spend the person’s finances must be treated as if the person had made the decision for themselves.

Note: An Appointee cannot decide about how to spend monies. Their role is limited to receiving benefits and ensuring the person’s financial obligations are met.

Money in the service

All money that enters and leaves the service must be recorded at the time that the movement occurs.

All purchases made with staff support must be recorded. If receipts are available, and the person does not need to keep them they should be attached to records.

The record should include a starting balance (which should reflect the end balance of the previous record), details of the incoming or outgoing money and an end balance.

Staff should sign and date each record.

Monitoring of financial records for anomalies should form part of the registered person’s quality assurance and monitoring processes.

Money in a service account

If the service receives money from an Appointee, Lasting Power of Attorney or Deputy via a bank transfer, there should be a method of identifying which money belongs to which person. For example, the use of a reference number only identifiable by the service. The person’s name should not be used as a reference number.

All money that enters and leaves the account must be recorded at the time that the movement occurs.

Cross referencing of statement information against records should form part of the registered person’s quality assurance and monitoring processes.

All financial irregularities should be reported to the registered person at the time they are noticed.

Recording processes should be sufficiently robust to allow a back-tracking of records in order to identify at which point the anomaly occurred, and what the potential reason for it was.

Unexplained financial discrepancies may warrant a safeguarding concern being raised.

Substantiated cases of dishonesty, theft or fraud are treated as gross misconduct and staff involved can be dismissed and/or face possible criminal proceedings. 

Any bank statements, benefits letters or other financial documents received by the service should be stored securely and with regard for confidentiality.

If the person has the mental capacity to manage their finances and has their own bank account, staff may need to support them to get to the bank so they can withdraw some, or all, of their money when they want to. Alternatively, an Appointee could provide them with cash.

If the person lacks the capacity to make financial decisions, they should not have their own bank account unless it is being fully managed by a Lasting Power of Attorney or Deputy. Either way, they will not have direct access to their money.

There is likely to be one of 2 options available for accessing the person’s money:

1. An Appointee, Lasting Power of Attorney or Deputy will provide money for everyday purchases in cash form;
2. An Appointee, Lasting Power of Attorney or Deputy will transfer the money into an account belonging to the service. The service will then need to withdraw the funds as and when needed by the person.

If a person lacks capacity to manage their finances and there is no Appointee, Lasting Power of Attorney or Deputy, the registered person should notify the local authority. They will be able to consider whether to make an application to the Court of Protection to become a Corporate Deputy.

Under no circumstances should the service or any manager/staff member make an application to become a Deputy.

If the person has the capacity to make decisions about finances, they can decide where they would like to keep their cash and any bank cards. Any potential risk of theft from others should be explained to them, so that they can consider this as part of their decision-making process.

If the person lacks the capacity to decide where to store their cash, and there is no way of storing it securely in their room, it would normally be in their best interests to keep it in a closed cupboard, preferably one that can lock. 

If possible, the person should be discouraged from storing large quantities of money at home as this increases the risk of abuse and/or financial anomalies.

If the person has the mental capacity to make decisions about how to spend their money, they must always be permitted and supported to do so. They may need some staff support to get to a shop or to access online banking facilities/shopping.

If the person lacks the capacity to make spending decisions, these must be made in their best interests by applying the principle of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

If there is a Lasting Power of Attorney or Deputy appointed to make financial decisions, they are responsible for doing this. Any decision that they make about how to spend the person’s finances must be treated as if the person had made the decision for themselves.

Note: An Appointee cannot decide about how to spend monies. Their role is limited to receiving benefits and ensuring the person’s financial obligations are met.

If the local authority is acting as a Corporate Deputy, they may provide an everyday Expenses Plan that sets out how much they will pay the person, how often, and what this should be used for.

It is likely that every day best interests decisions about spending will fall within the remit of staff to make. However, bigger expenditure, such as the purchase of a television or a holiday will need to be made by the Lasting Power of Attorney/Deputy. This is especially the case if the spending will have a detrimental effect on the level of finances available or on the person’s ability to meet a financial commitment e.g., a utility bill.

If the person has the mental capacity to manage their finances and has their own bank account, staff may need to support them to liaise with the bank and any utility providers to make payments or set up a direct debit/standing order.

If the person lacks the capacity to make financial decisions, an Appointee, Lasting Power of Attorney or Deputy can make arrangements to pay any bills from the person’s account.

Money in the person's home

If the person has the capacity to make financial decisions, there does not need to be a record kept of their spending, unless they ask staff to do so.

If the person lacks the capacity to manage their finances, all purchases made with staff support must be recorded. If receipts are available, and the person does not need to keep them they should be attached to records.

The record should include a starting balance (which should reflect the end balance of the previous record), details of the incoming or outgoing money and an end balance.

Staff should sign and date each record.

Monitoring of financial records for anomalies should form part of the registered person’s quality assurance and monitoring processes.

Money in a service account

If the service receives money from an Appointee, Lasting Power of Attorney or Deputy via a bank transfer, there should be a method of identifying which money belongs to which person. For example, the use of a reference number only identifiable by the service. The person’s name should not be used as a reference number.

All money that enters and leaves the account must be recorded at the time that the movement occurs.

Cross referencing of statement information against records should form part of the registered person’s quality assurance and monitoring processes.

All financial irregularities should be reported to the registered person at the time they are noticed.

Recording processes should be sufficiently robust to allow a back-tracking of records in order to identify at which point the anomaly occurred, and what the potential reason for it was.

Unexplained financial discrepancies may warrant a safeguarding concern being raised.

Substantiated cases of dishonesty, theft or fraud are gross misconduct and staff involved can be dismissed and/or face possible criminal proceedings.

The person should be encouraged and supported to store all bank statements, benefits letters or other financial documents securely in their home.

Sometimes, a person that manages all (or most) of their money may get into financial difficulty and benefit from support, advice or information to help avoid a crisis.

Final Demand is a guide that provides basic advice for health and social care workers, describing how they can practically help people with debt and mental health problems by knowing and doing small things.

See: Final Demand.