Individual Service Funds

An Individual Service Fund (ISF) is an arrangement where a local authority transfers the funds agreed for a person's care and support arrangements to an organisation of their choice, so that the person can be in control of how their support is designed and delivered.

• The person chooses a provider to hold their ISF on their behalf;
• The local authority, the client and the provider agree a 'three-way agreement' to determine how their ISF will support the client, this will set out hours / days and amounts due;
• The organisation works with the person (and their family/circle of support, if appropriate) to design and set up their support using the ISF;
• The local authority pays the ISF directly to the provider. The money is protected so it can't be spent on anything else;
• If a change needs to be made to the person's support, the provider can make the change straight away without waiting for confirmation from the person's social worker;
• The ISF can be used flexibly to provide support – such as paying for services in the community;
• The organisation must provide a regular report to the person and the council about how their budget is being spent.

If you need to set up an ISF please contact the Direct Payments Team for advice and support.