What is the Personal Finance Service (PFS)?

The London Borough of Camden (LBC) has a duty of care to provide personal finance support for an individual as a last resort in situations where there is no other suitable person. Any financial management will be authorised by the court of protection or corporate appointee regulations. 

The Personal Finance Service officers are authorised to act as an Appointee or Deputy for financial affairs and property, to ensure that a person’s finances are managed appropriately and that they have access to adequate funds.

Eligibility Criteria

In order to receive support from the Personal Finance Service the person must:

• be receiving a service from Adult Social Care (this includes Camden & Islington Mental Health Trust). Those who are receiving Continuing Healthcare will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
• have less than £23,250 in savings/other capital, who do not own any property or land, (i.e. they meet Camden’s financial eligibility criteria for ASC and C&I).
• does not have capacity to manage their finances, demonstrated by a completed mental capacity assessment and best interest assessment.
• have no family, friends or other third party willing or able to manage their finances on their behalf. The Office of the Public Guardian advises that distance is not a barrier to managing someone’s finances, so living abroad is not a sufficient reason for family or friends to decline the responsibility.

Please note: If a person has over £23,250 and property/assets, a Panel Deputy application will be processed by the ASC Legal Team rather than the Personal Finance Service. Where there are exceptional circumstances, this must be discussed with a team leader in the first instance to decide on an appropriate course of action.

Debt management

Debt as a result of financial mismanagement can sometimes be a marker of a person's lack of capacity to manage their personal finances. Social care practitioners are responsible for collating and summarising any creditors or debtors information as part of identifying what matters when supporting the person. This information needs to passed on to PFS when making a referral. 

After a referral to PFS is accepted, PFS caseworkers will collate the debt position of the person. This includes care debt, rent & council tax arrears, utility debt, credit cards and any personal debts. Debts will be paid according to the priority debt list to ensure the threat of eviction or court action is prevented. 

Priority debts include but are not limited to:

• Court fines
• Council Tax
• TV Licence
• Child maintenance
• Gas and electricity bills
• Income Tax, National Insurance and VAT