Your planning meeting usually takes about an hour and a half, though it can run up to three hours if there's a lot to cover - that's normal, not a bad sign.

After the meeting, your planner puts your plan together and checks that everything in it is reasonable and necessary (fair, disability-related and something you need). Approval typically takes a few weeks, depending on the complexity of your plan and whether the planner needs more information.

Once approved, you'll have a plan handover conversation where your plan is explained and you can ask questions, then you're ready to start using your funding.

You can speed things up by having your evidence ready to go. Our free preplanning tool helps you arrive organised.