Natalie Harris from our team recently attended “Reigniting Direct Payments: The Power of the Right Support”. The event was hosted by The National Direct Payment Forum and chaired by Pat Stack. It was sponsored by Mark Bates Ltd, with support from Dhpayroll and Empower.
The event brought together professionals, organizations, advocates and people with lived experience. They share one goal: making sure Direct Payments live up to their potential and deliver truly person-centered support.
Speakers covered both the challenges and the opportunities in Direct Payments today. Across the day, three things kept coming up: the right support, strong partnerships and new thinking. All three are key to giving people real choice and control over their lives.
For Money Carer, the day showed again how much collaboration matters. Natalie connected with others who care just as much about improving Direct Payment services. They swapped good practice and talked about what a gold-standard experience for individuals looks like.
The most powerful part was hearing directly from people with lived experience, including Jade Hamnett and Angie Stewart. They explained why this work matters so much. Voices like theirs shape better services and drive real change across the sector.
Thank you to the speakers: Frances Hasler, Cheryl Gowar, Lynne T., Fazilet Hadi MBE, David Ashley and Lucy Fullard. Thank you also to everyone who attended and made it such an engaging, thought-provoking day.