Adult Social Care Glossary, v 0.6

(4) A person is authorised for the purposes of this section if--
(a) the person is authorised under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 to make decisions about the adult's needs for care and support,
(b) where the person is not authorised as mentioned in paragraph (a), a person who is so authorised agrees with the local authority that the person is a suitable person to whom to make direct payments, or
(c) where the person is not authorised as mentioned in paragraph (a) and there is no person who is so authorised, the local authority considers that the person is a suitable person to whom to make direct payments.