Personal care budgets and
extra £520 million to transform care for older and disabled people
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
News Release issued by The Government News Network on 10 December 2007
Central and local
government sign ground-breaking agreement to reform social care
and support independent living
Central and local government sign ground-breaking agreement to
reform social care and support independent living
Health Secretary Alan Johnson today announced an extra £520
million of ring fenced funding to transform Social Care over the
next three years through the introduction of Personal Care budgets.
In a groundbreaking concordat "Putting People First"
Central Government, Local Government, the professional leadership
of adult Social Care and the NHS have jointly committed to a
radical 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 t o utilise direct payments.
- High quality care
homes, home care and day services to be rewarded, poor performers
failing to respect people's dignity no longer used by local
councils and the NHS.
- 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 and 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 and isolation
-
Closer collaboration between the NHS and local government so that
people receive more coordinated and efficient support in the community.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown said:
"Support for individuals and families when they need it is
of vital importance to all of us. These proposals for personal
budgets will allow all those who would benefit from a personal
budget to receive one, putting real control into the hands of
those in care and their carers, leading to far more personal and
responsive care."
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
"This is a groundbreaking concordat because it is the first
ever attempt by Central Government to co-produce a major Public
Service reform in this case with local government, the NHS, people
who use services and their carers.
"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."
Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Andy Burnham said:
"Today's world is one where we are moving away from
citizens having to fit their lives around the system, to one where
the system fits around the lives of citizens. Putting People First
sets a very clear agenda for better joining up of services and
increasing personalisation in social care - from maintaining
people's independence to creating person-centred packages of care."
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."
Anne Williams, President, Association of Directors of Adult
Social Services said:
'ADASS is delighted to welcome this concordat, which
highlights the challenges we all face in delivering a modern
personalised social care service. It brings together all parties
in central and local government, providers across all sectors,
professional bodies and regulators. The landmark nature of the
concordat is that it recognises the key role that those
responsible for delivering social care have in fulfilling the
country's expectations.'
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."
NOTES TO EDITORS
- The Social Care Reform Grant is a ring fenced grant, to support
councils to redesign and reshape their systems. It includes money
from the NHS, in recognition of the positive impact investing in
social care through early intervention and re-ablement can have on
peoples' health and the demand for healthcare.
- 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 be
central to transformed local services:
1. The vast majority of people who receive funded care using
their own personal budgets so they can decide which support
services they want. An increasing number supported to use direct payments
2. High quality care homes, homecare and day services to be
rewarded. Poor performers failing to respect people's dignity
to no longer be used by local councils and the NHS
3. First-stop shops offering information, advice and advocacy to
help people, irrespective of their means, choose care for
themselves or a family member
4. Local councils and voluntary organisations taking joint
responsibility for tackling loneliness and isolation amongst older people
5. 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.
6. Assessments and paperwork to be streamlined so social workers
are able to spend more time on the frontline and less time with
their computers
7. Co-located services, e.g. social workers based in primary
health centres alongside GPs and nurses
8. A network of 'champions' in every community
promoting dignity for older people
9. Inter-generational programmes bringing older and younger
people together in schools, day centres and neighbourhood housing schemes
10. New technology to be at the heart of ensuring people can
remain in their own homes and live independently.
[ENDS]
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