For people managing their own care arrangements through self-directed support, navigating complex budgets, staffing, and care coordination can be overwhelming. Yet, despite the push for digitalisation in mainstream adult social care, individuals and families who take on personal budgets (PBs) from local authorities or personal health budgets (PHBs) from NHS services via Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) are often left without access to the digital tools that could make this process easier.

It is time for a shift in thinking. If local authorities and ICBs want to encourage more people to take control of their support, they must ensure digital care platforms are accessible to those managing their own budgets, particularly where arrangements are more complex.

The Challenge of Managing Complex Support Arrangements Without Digital Tools

For people managing their own care, the administrative burden can be immense. Without digital systems, many rely on paper records, spreadsheets, or fragmented communication across emails and phone calls. This creates several challenges:

• Budget justification and monitoring – Many individuals struggle to demonstrate why specific funding levels are necessary, particularly when reassessments occur. Digital platforms can help track expenditure, evidence need, and ensure budget allocations remain appropriate.
• Care team coordination – When a person relies on multiple Personal Assistants (PAs) or agencies, ensuring they are all up to date with the latest care needs is difficult without a centralised system. This can lead to gaps in care or inconsistencies in support.
• Oversight and accountability – Family members, social workers, and healthcare professionals often lack visibility into how care is delivered day-to-day. A digital platform provides a clear record of what is happening and helps prevent safeguarding issues.
• Workforce management – With no formal system in place, families struggle to manage rotas, training, and compliance requirements for their care teams, adding to the stress of arranging support.

Social Care Providers Are Digitising – So Why Aren’t Citizens?

The majority of mainstream adult social care providers have now adopted digital solutions to improve care delivery, oversight, and efficiency. Initiatives like Digitising Social Care are supporting providers to choose the right technology, recognising the clear benefits of going digital, including fewer missed visits, better outcomes tracking, and improved budget management.

However, while councils and NHS bodies are funding and encouraging digital transformation within providers, the same level of support is not being extended to people managing their own care through personal budgets and PHBs.

This gap in support means that many families opt for agency care – often at a much higher cost – simply because they do not have the tools to confidently manage their own PAs. With agencies charging upwards of £35-50 per hour compared to £15-20 for PAs, local authorities and ICBs could save hundreds of thousands per person, per year, if they enabled people to manage support digitally.

If councils and the NHS recognise that digital tools help care providers operate more efficiently, they should also acknowledge that people using self-directed support need the same tools to manage their own care effectively.

How Digital Care Platforms Can Help

A well-designed digital care management system would offer:

• Centralised care records – A single place for care plans, risk assessments, and support notes, making it easier to track changes over time.
• Live care tracking – Ensuring PAs log visits, complete tasks, and update records in real-time to prevent missed care.
• Budget and payroll integration – Automated timesheets and financial tracking help individuals manage their budgets effectively and reduce administrative burden.
• Compliance and reporting tools – Families can provide clear evidence of how care is delivered, meeting audit requirements for local authorities and NHS bodies.
• Better communication – Families, PAs, and professionals can collaborate through a single platform rather than relying on paper notes or fragmented messaging.

These features are already available in digital systems used by care providers, but they need to be made available to people managing their own care too.

Making Digital Solutions Accessible

Despite the clear benefits, uptake of digital tools among personal budget and PHB holders remains low. The barriers include:

• Lack of awareness – Many people do not realise that digital solutions exist for self-directed support, assuming they are only for large care providers.
• Cost concerns – Some worry that digital platforms will be too expensive, despite the potential long-term savings in reducing reliance on agencies.
• Perceived complexity – There is a belief that digital care management systems may not be flexible enough to accommodate unique support needs.

However, these barriers can be addressed with the right support. Local authorities and ICBs should actively promote digital tools for personal budget holders, ensuring training and funding mechanisms are available.

Tools Like Total Care Manager Are Already Bridging the Gap

The good news is that solutions already exist. Platforms like Total Care Manager are designed specifically for families managing complex care arrangements, providing a centralised way to track support, manage budgets, and coordinate care teams.

By using tools like these, families can:

• Reduce administrative burden and stress
• Improve oversight of care and support
• Provide clear evidence of their care arrangements to funders
• Ensure their personal budget or PHB is being used effectively

For local authorities and ICBs, investing in digital solutions for self-directed support could reduce reliance on expensive agency care, enable more people to hire and manage their own PAs, and improve budget transparency.

Final Thoughts

If local authorities and ICBs are serious about expanding self-directed support, they need to invest in the right infrastructure to make it work. Digital care management platforms should not be reserved for care agencies – they should be available as a core option for individuals and families who choose to use digital tools to manage their own support.

By enabling people to take advantage of technology, councils and NHS bodies could:

✅ Improve outcomes for supported individuals
✅ Reduce their own administrative burdens and associated costs
✅ Cut costs by supporting more people to hire and manage their own PAs

With an increasing push towards personal budgets and PHBs in health and social care, now is the time to ensure that digital tools are part of the solution.