Looked after children

The leisure and positive activity card is for children and young people between the age of 6 and 17 who are in care and those in receipt of aftercare services. This card can be used to buy leisure related goods and services that are part of the scheme, like:

• sports courses
• swimming
• bowling
• leisure centres
• dance and drama classes
• many more activities

Buckinghamshire children who are looked after will automatically be offered this card. To opt out of the scheme, please inform the child's social worker or personal advisor that this card is not required.

The card will look just like a normal debit card with a chip and PIN. £15 will automatically be put onto the card on around the 20th of the month, with the exception of January and September. This means that credit will be added 10 times each year.

You must notify us via email at [email protected] before the card total reaches £150 if there is a reason why this balance has not been spent. If the total amount on the card reaches £150 and we have not received this notification, the balance will be reduced to £100 with the additional £50 reclaimed by the council.

Children and young people can only spend what is on the card. Attempts to purchase an item that costs more that the card's credit will be declined.

The card can be used to make payments in the same way as other bank cards but has some restrictions. It can be used at merchants who are leisure or positive activity providers. If a young person goes to an unapproved provider or a shop, their payment will be declined.

The provider will send new cards to the Children's Commissioning Team. This team will pass the card to the child’s social worker or fostering social worker to give the card to children and young people. They will obtain signature, explain terms and conditions and so on.

The card will cease functioning on the child’s 18th birthday. Children with disabilities who are unable to use this card will be offered alternate leisure options.

These cards are provided by Wirecard VISA International Incorporated and Affiliates. They are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. All information held and processed will be in accordance with the relevant data protection legislation.

If you lose the card

Lost cards will be reissued, but a cost of £5 will be deducted from the top-up fee by the provider.

Card usage tips

The card requires a PIN. This will be provided at the same time as the card is issued. If you lose the PIN you can request a new one via the email address [email protected]. There is no charge for resetting a forgotten PIN.

It's helpful to monitor the balance on the card as transactions over the limit will be declined.

Before you can use the card you may need to activate it. The instructions on how to do this will be included in the envelope with the card.

If you need help with balance enquiries, locked or stolen cards, declined transactions, or a faulty card, please contact the card provider.

Telephone: 0333 336 2971

Email: [email protected]

If you are asked security questions for the post code and address, use our details:

Buckinghamshire Council
County Hall, 4th Floor
Walton Street Offices
Walton Street
Aylesbury
Bucks
HP201YU

If a transaction is declined despite the card having enough balance, please also notify the council via [email protected]. Include the date, time and location of the failed transaction and we will work with the card provider to identify the reason for this issue.