Published: 11 December 2007
Personal Care Budgets
Health Secretary Alan Johnson has announced an extra £520m of ring fenced funding to transform Social Care over the next three years through the introduction of Personal Care budgets.
In a new concordat ‘Putting People First’, Central Government, Local Government, the professional leadership of adult Social Care and the NHS have jointly committed to a transformation of Care Services over the next three years.
In addition to Alan Johnson, five cabinet members have also signed 'Putting People First' as lead partners with involvement in the reform process:
· Chief Secretary of the Treasury Andy Burnham
· Communities and Local Government Secretary, Hazel Blears
· Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills, John Denham
· Education Secretary Ed Balls
· Work and Pensions Secretary Peter Hain
· Leader of the Local Government Association Sir Simon Milton
· NHS Chief Executive David Nicholson, and
· President of the Association of Adult Directors of Social Care Anne Williams
The extra £520 million will be allocated to councils as a Social Care Reform grant over the next three years.
The grant includes some NHS resources in recognition of the impact social care can have on improving people's health and well-being.
Key elements of the transformation programme in every community will include:
· Giving the vast majority of people who receive funded care their own personal budgets so they can choose the support services they want for themselves of a family member. An increasing number of people to utilise direct payments
· High quality care homes, home care & day services to be rewarded, poor performers failing to respect people's dignity no longer used by local councils and the NHS (Of course that pre-supposes that a LA has a number to choose from, when most have closed their own state run homes and thousands of private beds are being lost each year due to LAs not paying the market rate)
· Initiatives such as first-stop shops becoming common place so that everyone, including people who don't have support from social services, will have access to advice & advocacy about community services, such as local community equipment providers, fall services or domiciliary support and transport links
· Investing in support that keeps older people healthy and tackles loneliness & isolation
· Closer collaboration between the NHS and local government so that people receive more co-ordinated and efficient support in the community
Health Secretary Alan Johnson said:
"One of my top priorities is to develop a new care system which gives people maximum control over their own support services
Our commitment that the majority of social care funding will be controlled by individuals, though personal budgets represents a radical transfer of power from the state to the public.
Everyone, irrespective of their illness or disability has the right to self determinations and maximum control over their own lives."
Having announced our intention to produce a green paper on the long-term reform of social care funds, it is essential we also seek significant improvements to the existing care system."
Sir Simon Milton, Chairman of the Local Government Association, said:
"This landmark agreement between local and central government should provide the foundation to give people independence, choice and dignity cover their lives.
By working together, central and local government can begin to plan for and provide a modern, efficient service that should give people with the best possible care at the right time and in the right place.
Given the pressures arising from an ageing population and rising expectations, we are pleased the government has also recognised that change comes at a price.
The new grant for social work reform will go some way to enable councils to move towards a more personalised and preventative system of care."
Paul Cann, Director of Policy & External Relations at Help the Aged said:
"This new initiative should herald a shift in social care from being a service under pressure to a service at the very heart of public policy, in which all have a stake.
The focus on individual budgets and personalisation promises to empower older people and their carers to drive the decisions that shape their lives.
This is a huge step forward, which should bring significant benefits for older people. However, no one should under-estimate the culture change required within the social care system if self-directed care is to truly succeed.
The Concordat must deliver change quickly. This is a massive task, but this initiative is a genuine step forward and augurs well for the future."
The new Social Care Reform Grant is worth £85 million in 2008/09, £195 million in 2009/10 and £240 million in 2010/11.
Progress on social service transformation will be monitored by the independent regulator against the outcome-focused metrics set out in the National Indicator Set. The new Care Quality Commission's performance assessment will contribute to the Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA).
The grant will be paid to councils on top of the core PSS funding and in addition to the increases in other DH grants announced last week, including those for carers, mental health and the social care workforce, which increase by an average 2.3% real per year, worth £190 million by 2010/11.
The concordat identifies the following elements that will also be central to transformed local services:
· Carers to be treated as equal partners and experts by professionals. New specific support for carers will be announced by the PM in spring 2008.
· Assessments and paperwork to be streamlined so social workers are able to spend more time on the frontline and less time with their computers
· Co-located services, e.g. social workers based in primary health centres alongside GPs and nurses
· A network of 'champions' in every community promoting dignity for older people
· Inter-generational programmes bringing older and younger people together in schools, day centres and neighbourhood housing schemes
· New technology to be at the heart of ensuring people can remain in their own homes and live independently
Of course this does nothing for the vast number of elderly people who don’t receive funded care, but who payed taxes all their life!
Further information
Putting People First
DH - Personalisation
The In Control Website
Independence, choice and risk: a guide to best practice in supported decision making
National Indicators
Care Quality Commission
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