Government rolling out £6m self-directed support programme

A new partnership is being formed to support efforts to give people who receive social care increased independence and the ability to direct their own care needs.

The Scottish Government is committed to introducing a Self-Directed Support Bill to give people a bigger say in which services they think will best help them to live in their own homes and communities – giving people the chance to change their lives for the better.

A programme – supported by almost £6m of Scottish Government funding – will see almost 30 Scottish independent sector organisations working together with social care providers to help implement self directed support across Scotland.

One part of the programme is taking forward the Changing Support Changing Lives Initiative. The Long Term Conditions Alliances Scotland (LTCAS), Scottish Consortium for Learning Disability (SCLD), ENABLE Scotland, In Control Scotland and the Institute for Research and Innovation in Social Services (IRISS) will work together to roll out a programme of events to help social care providers ensure their services are geared up to making self-directed support a reality.

Public Health Minister Michael Matheson said: “Self-directed support is all about placing greater control and responsibility in the hands of people who receive social care, enhancing their independence and wellbeing. For example, an individual could receive a direct payment to get support to live in their own home – such as help getting washed and dressed – or arranging support to attend college or take part in fitness activities.

“The purpose of the bill will be to lay the foundations for self-directed support to become a mainstream choice for people receiving social care, introduce the language and terminology of self-directed support into statute, and make it clear that it is the citizen’s choice as to how much control they want to have.

“As part of the programme, the Coalition of Care and Support Providers and Scottish Care will work with providers to promote increased understanding of self-directed support, giving them the knowledge to help people with social care needs tailor packages to meet their personal needs.”

Ian Welsh, LTCAS Chief Executive, said: “I warmly welcome the investment the Scottish Government has made in the Changing Support, Changing Lives project, and am delighted to be part of it. Helping organisations to transform their support and services will be crucial in making a reality of the aspirations of many people who are disabled or live with long term conditions who, like everyone, want choice and control over their own lives.”

Peter Scott, ENABLE Scotland’s Chief Executive, said: “Self-directed support will provide everyone who is in receipt of support with the opportunity to have greater control and choice over how their needs are met, something our members have been long campaigning for. People who have a disability or a long term condition, together with their families, are the right people to decide what they want from their lives, and Self-directed support will give them the best opportunity to achieve this.

Lisa Curtice, Director of SCLD, said: “We are looking forward to working with our partners in Changing Support, Changing Lives to assist provider organisations to work in partnership with the people who may wish to purchase their support.  Our contribution will be to help providers evaluate the effect of the changes they make on the people they support and we shall encourage them to do this from the perspective of, and with the active participation of, disabled people.”

John Dalrymple, In Control Scotland Board Member, said: “People who rely on support must be able to shape that support to make sure that they are at the centre of community and national life, and not held at the margins. The project represents sustained government investment that can help providers of support really get to grips with what it will take to support people to live independently as genuinely empowered citizens.”

Alison Petch, Director, IRISS said: “I am delighted that IRISS has been asked to contribute to the Changing Support, Changing Lives project. I particularly welcome the opportunity to work in close partnership with Enable, SCLD, in Control and LTCAS and very much hope that this collaboration will yield real added value beyond what each of the organisations can offer individually. Above all I welcome the opportunity for the project to contribute to the transformation of support for individuals.”

Scotland’s 10-year self-directed support strategy, drawn up with the support of COSLA and stakeholders, aims to make self-directed support the mainstream route for funding of support services. It is hoped that as many people as possible will take advantage of this route.

Self-directed support, encompassing direct payments, provides individual budgets for people to buy or arrange their own support packages to meet their assessed personal, social and healthcare needs. More than 3,500 people across Scotland are already choosing to use self-directed support, but the Scottish Government aims to increase this number.

For more, visit: http://www.selfdirectedsupportscotland.org.uk/