DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
News Release issued by COI News Distribution Service. 26 February 2009
Phil Hope hails
encouraging results of new research
Individual budgets can greatly improve carers' quality of
life when compared with carers of people using conventional social
services, new independent research has shown. They can allow
carers more control and flexibility in their daily routines, and
some carers said individual budgets also improved quality of life
for the person they were looking after.
Individual budgets are an alternative way of paying for social
care. Instead of local authorities buying services on behalf of an
individual, that person is given control of their own budget and
can direct how it is spent, allowing the care package to be
tailored to their needs.
The research, ''The Individual Budgets Pilot Projects:
Impacts and Outcomes for Carers', found that:
* Carers are more able to "engage in activities of their choice."
* IBs for service users may be cost effective for carers.
* Carers identified the benefits of IBs as including greater
flexibility, choice and control. This positively affected how they
spent their time, and improved the quality of life of the service user.
Further conclusions were greater opportunities for carers to help
plan support for the people they care for under IBs than in
conventional services. Carers of older people in particular were
found to benefit in this way when the people they cared for had an IB.
However, the research also highlighted that the assessment
process for service users' individual budgets can sometimes
overlook the needs of carers. Local authority officers also had
mixed views about paying carers from a person's individual budget.
Care Services Minister Phil Hope said:
"The six million carers in the UK are unsung heroes of our
society. They are living proof that Britain is far from broken,
and we must do everything we can to help them. Today's report
is very encouraging. It shows that individual budgets can bring
carers out of the shadows, improve their well-being and give them
more control over their lives.
"Local authorities need to remember that when they assess
someone for an individual budget, their carer's needs must be
taken into account.
"I appreciate the mixed views and worries that exist on the
issue of paying carers from individual budgets. For some people,
employing close relatives might be a good solution, for others
less so. Councils will need to take decisions based on the best
possible advice."
"Based on the research I've seen and the opinions of
services users, carers and councils, I know that individual
budgets can transform lives for the better.
Carers have told me that their lives improved beyond all
recognition when their loved one got choice and control over their
own care. What is clear is that individual budgets need to be
carefully implemented. This research, combined with the excellent
report from The Princess Royal Trust for Carers and Crossroads
Caring for Carers, will help local authorities to help more people
and carers experience the benefits of individual budgets."
Hazel Hyde, whose husband Geoff has Alzheimer's and uses an
individual budget, said:
"Because I can have so much help - because of Geoff's
individual budget - it means that my stress levels are lower and I
can keep well enough to keep looking after him."
"It used to upset me that there were so many things I
couldn't do. It upset me and if I was upset, then Geoff was.
The individual budget pays off because it means that both of us
are happier."
Alex Fox, Director of Policy and Communications at The Princess
Royal Trust for Carers said:
"The Princess Royal Trust for Carers and Crossroads Caring
for Carers welcome the government's new research showing that
individualised budgets are, overall, having a positive impact on
carers' lives.
"We would agree that IBs need to be implemented properly to
allow carers greater involvement in the decisions which affect
their lives. However some councils are neglecting to do this.
Where carers feel isolated and under-valued, care plans for very
vulnerable people can break down. Neither families, nor the social
care system's budgets can afford this. The UK already relies
on six million of carers, increasing by 60% or 3.4 million within
three decades.
"Our 'Putting People First without putting carers
second' report, launched today, examines the challenges local
councils and health trusts face in making
'personalisation' a reality for carers alongside those
they care for. It also highlights a range of solutions that are
already in place to meet those challenges."
Notes to Editors
The Government has invested £520million over the three years to
2011 for councils to transform adult social care so that it can
become much more tailored to people's needs.
The team who undertook the research consisted of:
Social Policy Research Unit, University of York Personal Social
Services Research Unit, University of Kent
This research is one of two reports to inform development of
personal and individual budgets. The first, published on 21
October, examined the impact of IBs on service users and this one,
'The Individual Budgets Pilot Projects: Impacts and Outcomes
for Carers', examined the impacts on carers.
The reports can be found here: http://www.york.ac.uk/spru
and http://www.pssru.ac.uk
Putting People First Without Putting Carers Second Report
An electronic version in pdf format will also be available at http://www.carers.org/professionals/adult-carers/health-and-wellbeing,808,PP.html
The Princess Royal Trust for Carers and Crossroads Caring for
Carers are the two biggest providers of services for carers in the
UK and work together at a national level to promote policies and
guidance that will support carers.
The Princess Royal Trust for Carers is the largest provider of
comprehensive carers support services in the UK. Through its
unique network of 144 independently managed Carers' Centres,
85 young carers services and interactive websites (http://www.carers.org and http://www.youngcarers.net),
The Trust currently provides quality information, advice and
support services to almost 354,000 carers, including over 20,000
young carers.
Crossroads Caring for Carers is the largest provider of respite
care amounting to 4.7million hours ever year throughout England
and Wales. Running for 35 years Crossroads have unparalleled
experience and expertise in providing a high level of personal
care for the cared-for and vital support for the carer as well (http://www.crossroads.org.uk).