Glasgow City Council insists its individual budgets are on track

Glasgow City Council has insisted its controversial personalisation programme, which aims to hand people with disabilities control over the services they need, is still on track, while admitting to “drift” on the timescale.

Most Scottish councils are currently pursuing a similar policy, assessing service users to provide them with personal budgets to commission their own services in terms of personal care, transport and other support. However none has attempted to introduce it with the speed of Glasgow’s scheme.

The shift to “self-directed support” (SDS) for people with learning disabilities was originally due to be completed by April of this year, with 1800 people to be assessed and awarded budgets in the space of just a few months.

Other groups of social work clients were set to follow, including people with physical disabilities and those with mental health problems.

However this week the Learning Disability Alliance Scotland (LDAS) – an umbrella body for learning disability charities – suggested the programme was being frozen.

Council social work chief David Crawford had admitted as much, in a meeting with carers, LDAS said, and had conceded that significant mistakes had been made.

This interpretation is firmly rejected by the council, which told The Herald that it remained “committed” to personalisation.

“Giving people more responsibility and power over their own lives is the right thing to do,” a spokesman said. “Around 800 service users already have individual budgets allocated and we expect all adults with learning disabilities to have moved onto the new system next year.

“Personalisation for adults with physical disabilities will be introduced later this year.”

However there will be some “drift” on the timetable, after furious objections from some people with learning disabilities and their families and carers, many of whom have seen cuts of 20% or more in the financial care package they can expect by the time the new budgets for their support plans are set.

The delay is partly due to the need to assess the impact of the changes on vulnerable clients through so-called Risk Enablement Panels, which will allow health and social workers to review support plans and reject them if they feel they will put clients at too great a risk.

According to the council, 169 of the care plans need to be reviewed in this way, although LDAS believes the number has since risen, and says many clients applied for a review but have not been accepted.

Glasgow City Council admits the original timescale was tight. The spokesman said: “It is true to say that we had expected all service users with learning disabilities to be engaged in the personalisation process by April this year.

“However a huge volume of extremely complex assessments requires to be undertaken.

“Since February this year we have been clear with service users, service providers and trade unions that personalisation would be introduced in two phases. Phase one is largely complete and phase two will be complete next year.”

LDAS co-ordinator Ian Hood said the principle of personalisation had support but had become inextricably linked with financial cutbacks in the city.

Many people remain deeply anxious and upset about the process, he claimed. “While many people have been in favour of Self Directed Support, Glasgow’s approach of linking it to a cut of 20% in funding had worried many service users, families and other people,” he said.

“Hundreds have been rushed through a botched assessment process that saw no social work involvement in the majority of cases other than a paper sign-off.

“Over 169 people have been accepted for the Risk Enablement and many more wanted to go but were turned down.

“And no fair process existed to ensure that excessive funding cuts did not lead to poorer outcomes for people.”

Lorrel Langthorne, 31, is one of those who has received a budget and support plan well below what she was previously entitled to receive.

She suffers from Angelman syndrome, which leaves her unable to walk or talk or care for herself and she currently receives 24-hour care from the charity Quarriers in her own tenancy.

Her mother Irene has been informed that the budget for self-directed support will be 34% lower than the deal she currently receives, meaning the existing care package is likely to become unaffordable.

“It has been suggested to me that they will try to look after people in day centres, with one carer to four clients,” she said. “That won’t work because Lorrel can become agitated and throw things. She can’t do anything for herself and doesn’t understand danger.

“If she kicks off what will happen to the other three? Or what happens to Lorrel if something happens to one of them? They just told us we’ll have to cut back, or move to a cheaper care provider.

“I don’t think a lot of people know what’s going on with this. The council may be admitting they have done things too quickly, but I don’t think they’re going to change anything. I feel like they are ruining a lot of people’s lives. It has taken us years to get Lorrel’s care package right and now it is all going to be taken apart.”

Cathie Heaney, who cares for her disabled son and will be part of the next round of assessment for Self-directed Support said she was glad that the council was not sticking rigidly to its timetable. “I think it is good that they make sure everyone they have looked at so far is going to get the right package.”

Ian Hood said the council should have taken more time before embarking on its strategy. “We understand the reluctance of the council to admit mistakes, but any [that have been made] should be corrected quickly”, he said.

“A proper equality impact assessment and a genuine assessment process would have helped reduce the level of mistakes.”