Tech glitch leaves some disabled people unable to pay for care

Anne Pridmore employs five people for 24-hour care and is worried they will not be paid at the end of the month

Some disabled people have been left unable to pay for their care because of a glitch in a funding system used by councils across the UK.

The technical issues mean some carers and personal assistants have not been paid for more than a week.

One woman who uses a wheelchair said it had left "vulnerable people and essential workers in limbo".

The company that runs the system, Prepaid Financial Services (PFS), apologised and said it was working to "rectify the situation as quickly as possible".

Many local authorities provide funds for people who qualify for support by issuing pre-paid cards, which the recipient can use to pay for care.

Many disabled people use the money to hire care workers or personal assistants, which means they become employers.

A Local Government Association (LGA) spokesperson said local councils are working hard to provide alternative payment options.

It added that councils are working to ensure continuity of care," especially for those with the highest levels of need".

Anne Pridmore, who runs a network for disabled people called Being the Boss, employs five personal assistants for round-the-clock care at her home in Leicester.

The care costs £11,000 a month and is funded by Leicester County Council through a pre-paid card.

She told the BBC she was worried about the consequences of not being able access the funds, since she could not otherwise afford it.

"If they don't get paid, my employees could take me to court," she said. "I am their employer so the buck stops with me."

Ms Pridmore said she had been left frustrated and angry.

"This service blackout is leaving vulnerable people and essential workers in limbo, without any viable alternative".

Leicestershire County Council said around 3,500 people in the county held pre-paid cards, but not all of them would be impacted by what was a "national" issue.

A spokesperson for the council told the BBC it had reached out to those who were affected with "support and advice on what to do if they need to make payments urgently and to ensure that alternative arrangements are in place".

"We appreciate the difficulties that this has caused and are doing everything we can to help," the statement added.

Nicola, from Bradford, who asked the BBC not to report her second name, is a full-time carer for her daughter who has multiple disabilities which require round-the-clock-care.

She first noticed that she could not log in to her payment account on 14 July.

Her daughter also has six other carers, and she said the thought of them seeking alternative work as a result was daunting.

"I will be required to stay awake 24 hours a day, which is not possible and it would probably mean that my daughter will be housebound as I'd not have support to take her out," she said.

The BBC has contacted Bradford Council for a response.

Sophie Withers, a personal assistant from Morecombe who got in touch with the BBC through Your Voice, Your BBC News, is paid weekly and said she was owed £720 last week because clients had been unable to pay her.

"My rent was due on Saturday so I was really panicking by Thursday," she said.

Sophie Withers is worried she will not be able to afford to pay for food and bills if the situation continues

Ms Withers was able to get an emergency payment from her local authority, but said that was no longer an option this week as it was a one-off gesture.

"I hope this is resolved quickly. I don't want think about what happens if I can't get paid," she said.

"I need to pay for petrol which is essential for work, I need supplies like [personal protective equipment] and to pay for food and bills."

A spokesman for Lancashire County Council said more than 100 councils and NHS bodies were likely to have been affected by the technical issue.

"[PFS] has assured the council that they are urgently working to restore all functionality," he said.

"We are using our local communications to make sure that service users and their families know how to get the support available."

In a statement sent to the BBC on Wednesday afternoon, PFS said "core services have been substantially restored" and customer funds "remained secure and fully protected".

It said some of its programs "relied on an external payment processor" but were in the process of being moved to an "in-house processing infrastructure".

"We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused and appreciate the patience and understanding shown by our customers and cardholders," it said.

"This decision, made under exceptional circumstances, reflects our deep commitment to protecting our customers and ensuring long-term service resilience."

The LGA said the issues began after a recent platform migration by PFS, and it was aware of issues affecting a number of councils using the system for social care direct payments.