Unwinding the red tape of personal budgets

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Following on from last week's Ministerial Personalisation Summit, Think Local Act Personal has today launched online materials showing how 22 councils from across England are trying to unwind the red tape so people can better access personal budgets to manage their care and support.

The case studies and two summary reports (links below) are a product of the TLAP self-directed support forum, to support other councils to make improvements to personal budgets delivery .

Government policy says that personal budgets - where people know how much money a council is making available for their care and support and can control how that money is spent - are to become mainstream in social care. They can be taken as a direct cash payment or managed on the individual's behalf by the council or a third party to the goal is to deliver self-directed support so people can have more choice and control over how they live their life.

Research on their use through the first and second national personal budgets surveys has shown that personal budgets are making significant improvements to people's quality of life and feelings of independence, but that there are significant concerns about the process of getting and using them. The 2013 survey also demonstrates big variability from place to place, the clear links between good process and good outcomes and the positive impact of direct payments.

The examples of 'promising practice' published today - 26 examples that focus on reducing the processes that have built up around delivering self-directed support and 16 that focus on increasing the uptake of direct payments - have been gathered together following a series of workshops held earlier this year.

TLAP worked with Sitra and Disability Rights UK to find out where councils are taking practical steps to improve people's experiences of accessing personal budgets and direct payments, including how councils are changing the way they provide information and advice, undertaking self-assessments, providing help with planning support, working in co-production with people who use services, families and carers and getting the right systems in place to make the best use of scarce resources.

Think Local Act Personal co-chairs Clenton Farquharson and Marjorie Broughton say:
"Personal budgets and direct payments help people shape their choices and gain more control over their lives. To reduce some of the processes that have built up around them, we need councils to uphold and facilitate a consistent approach to the way they are delivered so that all people, in all areas are able to make choices which are beneficial to their wellbeing, health, and ability to live within the community."

Sitra Chief Executive Vic Rayner says:
"We know from our experience of working with commissioners, providers and service users that a positive commitment to personalisation can be undermined by the bureaucracy and challenges of systems and processes. We know that there is excellent practice out there and this report and case studies will provide clear direction to 'bust' through some of the red tape and push forward self directed support."