Blogs and articles

Shropshire Council invited TLAP colleagues to look at how they can improve the take up and use of direct payments. Caroline Lewis, speaks from the heart about her own struggles with using her Direct Payment to find personal assistants and what she got out of the session that urged an injection of creativity when it comes to DPs.

An important debate is taking place about how to ensure that people who need care and support get that help in a way that enables them to stay safe and well and live the life they want.

With the launch of TLAP's new innovations resource, Alex Fox considers why it's needed now

You may or may not know that Shropshire Council have had a Making it Real board for quite a number of years, and have signed up wholeheartedly to using the updated version of Making it Real.

Bexley Council have triumphed in getting an Individual Service Fund offer in place for people living in Supported Living.

Natasha Burberry is TLAP Advisor for Care Markets and Quality and also a Regional Sector Led Improvement Manager for Adults in the East of England

We’ve been on a road trip, to see where people are having a better experience of support planning in our quest to find creative and diverse ways of managing personal budgets.

For co-production week, Dame Philippa Russell reflects on how important co-production is for older people with mental health issues - it's all about letting your birds sing.

"Health inequalities is a topic close to my heart and thankfully the NHS Long Term plan goes some way to address it.

Kate Sibthorp is a mum to a daughter with learning disabilities and autism. She is also a member of the National Co-production Advisory Group (NCAG).

Care and support planning is part of the self-directed support process, but is not always done well.

Clenton Farquharson MBE, chair of Think Local Act Personal, gave the following speech at ADASS Spring Seminar on the care that he wants. He pays tribute to the person-centred approach of his social worker and makes a plea for delegates to remember their moral and legal duty to put people’s wellbeing front and centre.

TLAP chair Clenton Farquharson’s latest blog is a response to some of the challenges in social care as discussed at the ADASS Spring seminar.

Katie, a member of Shropshire Council’s Making it Real board and someone accessing services locally, discusses a life changing day in her life shadowing the Director of Adult Services and Making it Real in Shropshire.

There are no surprises in an evaluation that shows disabled people benefit from getting involved in physical activity – that’s a given, and was one of the findings from the ‘Get Yourself Active’ project.

Does anyone love Valentine’s Day? Apart from the shops selling cards, flowers, chocolates and romantic dinners?

Caroline Speirs, Head of Think Local Act Personal, blogs about shifting power and unlocking traditional mind sets with Making it Real.

Former Care Minister Norman Lamb MP, supporter of TLAP and advocate for Making it Real discusses his frustrations with the social care system and why the Making it Real framework can support meaningful change.

As mum to a young woman with learning disabilities and autism, Kate’s been thinking about how Making it Real could inspire personal assistants and support staff to help people like her daughter achieve their New Year’s resolutions.

The Making it Real I statement, “I know what my rights are and can get information and advice on all the options for my health, care and housing” applies to carers and also to the people we care for. It is matched by the We statement, “We make sure people know their legal rights and responsibilities”.