Southampton Centre for Independent Living

Ian Loynes and Robert Droy from SCIL recently attended the first session of the Hampshire Personalisation Commission. Throughout the day, we discussed with members of the audience how they felt about the Commission and their observations of the first session.

Firstly without wishing to be overly negative, the format and acoustics of the venue was not particularly accessible for many of the participants. There was no sign language interpreter at the session but we presume this would have been provided if an participant had requested it. We were also disappointed with the lack of diversity amongst both the commissioners, witnesses, and the audience in general. ‘White, middle aged, and middle class’ was one comment we heard.

Despite the session being entitled ‘People and Carers’, out of the 7 people who gave evidence, 3 people were actually ‘professionals’ who gave lengthy presentations which were followed up by questions. Their evidence, whilst useful, may have been better suited to a later session.

In contrast, the ‘people’ and ‘carers’ were asked to give very brief presentations with no opportunity for the commissioners to question them further. We feel this was a missed opportunity to really capture from the ‘users’ themselves why personalisation was so important. This part of the evidence was summed up by the Commission Chair as ‘moving’ and ‘uplifting’. Whilst these comments were well meaning, they were construed by many as slightly patronising and not viewing the evidence on an equal level as the evidence given by the other witnesses.

The round table discussions in the afternoon were found to be much more successful but unfortunately were only open to a ‘select’ group of invited guests. Some of the common themes have however been summarised in a document on the Hampshire Personalisation Commission website, along with much of the other evidence and presentations at each session.

The next session is on June 12 and you can apply for tickets for that session until May 20 by visiting the website or by calling 01962 833 040. Leave your name, telephone number and address and they will post an application form to you

Thanks to NCIL for passing on this information.

The Coalition on Charging is a group of organisations chaired by the National Centre for Independent Living (NCIL). The coalition was established to campaign against the current system of charging for community care services.

The Coalition members include: NCIL, Age Concern, Scope, the Multiple Sclerosis Society, Disability Alliance, Alzheimer’s Society, People First, Mind, Radar, the Alliance for Inclusive Education, Counsel and Care, United Kingdom Disabled Peoples Council (UKDPC), Action for Blind People, Royal National Institute for the Deaf, Arthritis Care, British Polio Fellowship, Carers UK, Equalities, Help the Aged, the Parkinson’s Disease Society, Mencap.

The Coalition is writing an up to date report, highlighting the current situation with charging for care, to ensure that the issue is on the government’s agenda when looking at the future of social care.

Our survey:

As part of the report we want to include feedback from people who are affected by charging. We have developed a survey that will be used to help the Coalition on Charging produce good information.

The report is aimed at the Department of Health and Government. A Government consultation (‘green’) paper on reform is due out sometime in 2008.  The Government has said that it ‘believes that there are real opportunities for reform within a system that shares the cost between the individual and the state’.

However, in our view, it is very important that they look at the effects on people of the current charging system and hear the views of people who are currently being charged for their support.

In order that we can include your views please can you respond to this survey by May 1 2008.

Please fill in the question on personal details. It is important for us to know your age as adult services are often provided for ‘adults’ and ‘older people’. We will not pass on any personal information and will make all responses anonymous in the report.

The Coalition has one set of survey questions for individual people who need support and their carers. There is a separate set of survey questions for organisations representing people who need support and representing carers. Please fill in the right survey.

You can download them here:

charging-survey-for-individuals

charging-survey-for-organisations

If you are involved in a forum or network, if you were able to discuss this issue that would be very useful.

The survey is for all adults in England who use (or have used) local authority social services for support in their own home. This includes people who use (or have used) direct payments. It does not include people who use residential care services.

This survey is aimed at all disabled and older people who use community care services.

We apologise for the short amount of time given to return the survey but we hope you will be able to give us your views.

Please send your completed survey by May 1 2008 to NCIL,  Fourth Floor, Hampton House, 20 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TJ or to policy@ncil.org.uk or fax to 0207 587 1663

Baroness Jane Campbell has called for Personalisation and Social Care to been seen as a human rights and equality issue. In a powerful speech to the Institute for Public Policy Research, she says that funding for older people, support for carers, and promoting independent living needs to be one debate.

Echoing CSCI’s recent report on social care, Baroness Campbell questioned the tightening of eligibility criteria by local authorities - ‘If disabled people cannot access services unless they have the highest level of need, then all the empowering transformed delivery in the world, will not change the inequality experienced by people and families who require public service support to participate equally in society.’ 

She added ‘When we debate the future of adult social care, we are talking about people’s human rights and equality, not just for the person requiring the support, but for those with whom they share their lives.’

Here at SCIL, we believe Self Directed Support can only be fully utilised if people receive support and advocacy in order to make informed decisions.

Jane seems to agree. She said ‘As Demos have pointed out, the very advantages that personalisation and coproduction potentially offers also contain the seeds of building further inequality and disadvantage: “there will be huge scope for self-directed services and personal budgets. These pay-offs will particularly apply where people can mobilise their own knowledge and resources to make the service more effective”.  “For those who do not — the most excluded in our society, the people who need it the most, will lose out”.

We highly recommend blog visitors read the complete speech on the Equality and Human Rights Commission Website.

The Leader of Hampshire County Council, Councilor Ken Thornber has launched a commission of inquiry to help shape future services for people in need of support and care.

According to Hampshire County Council’s website: ‘Adult social care services must be transformed over the next three years. This transformation will include moving to a personalised adult social care system which emphasises the individual’s dignity, right to self-determination, choice, control and power over the support services they receive.

Personalisation means moving away from traditional social care where people are fitted into a limited set of available statutory services. It involves considering a person as an individual with aspirations, as well as needs, and a circle of family, friends and other resources and support mechanisms around them. It introduces the requirement for greater personal responsibility and for individuals to use their own resources, as well as those available through statutory and other services, to meet their needs in the best way possible. 

We need to take into account the challenges of demographic changes and resource constraints. We need to adopt a more collaborative approach between agencies, including the voluntary and independent sector.’

Hampshire are planning four evidence sessions over the next five months and are requesting evidence at least one month before each session. Hampshire will then select some people to give evidence in person if they wish to.

The four sessions are as follows:

April 28 – People and Carers - For this session we would like information on people’s experiences of personalisation or the lack of it in adult social care services. We would like people’s ideas on how personalisation can be achieved and how the system can be paid for. We want to hear from individuals, staff, families, carers and interested organisations.

June 12 – Partners and Funding - For this session we would like information on the implications personalisation will have for our partner organisations in Health services, Government departments, Adult Protection, the Third Sector and Voluntary Sector, and Employment. We will want to explore in depth the opportunities for new ways of funding. We also want to understand how risks may change for individuals and organisations.

July 18 – The Care Market - For this session we would like information on the effects personalisation will have on the market place. We would like to know what it will mean for all care providers running residential and nursing homes, home care, day activities and meals services. We would like information on what it means for the voluntary sector, the leisure market, health and other partners.

September 19 – The Local Authority - For this session we would like information on the implications personalisation will have for Local Authorities. We would like to hear from all aspects of Local Authority provision including housing, transport, leisure, and community safety. We want to explore the impact on culture, workforce and systems.

The Commission will be chaired by Councillor Ken Thornber with Councillor Felicity Hindson. Other notable commissioners include Peter Beresford, John Dixon from ADASS, Peter White and George Young, MP for North West Hampshire.

More information including a list of Commissioners, briefing papers, and how to submit evidence is available at http://www3.hants.gov.uk/adult-services/commission-personalisation

It seems like there’s nothing like the subject of Blue Badges to get people energised with many local papers regularly filling their pages with stories of either people abusing the Blue Badge scheme or Blue Badge holders being given parking tickets unfairly.

The Disabled Person’s Parking Badge Scheme (”the Blue Badge Scheme”) was introduced in 1971 to provide a national arrangement of on-street parking concessions for disabled people, allowing them to access goods and services more easily.  There are currently 2.3 million Blue Badge holders in the UK.

The Department of Transport have now decided to consult on changes to the Blue Badge scheme. The main changes being proposed relate to the eligibility criteria for the Scheme together with better ways of administering and enforcing the Scheme in order to cut down on levels of abuse. This may require altering the design of the badge to make it harder to forge.

A national database of Blue Badge holders is also being proposed. Another proposal is that different local authorities could vary the parking concessions granted to users of Blue Badges. This already happens in Central London, however the report also points out that this may add to uncertainty amongst Blue Badge holders about where they can park and for how long.

One idea being mooted is to try to lessen the financial worth of the Blue Badge to put people off stealing them. The idea would be that Blue Badge holders would no longer receive free parking but that Disabled People would be entitled to a ‘parking payment’ as part of their Individual Budget.

The final date for responses to be received by the Department for Transport is 17 April 2008. The full consultation document is available on http://www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/open/bluebadgereformstrategy

Both Disabled People and Local Authorities were shocked by the Independent Living Funds’ decision to raise the amount that local authorities have to contribute towards a person’s support package before they are entitled to ILF funding.

From April 1 2008, new applicants will need to be receiving at least £320 per week of local authority input. This is an increase from the current threshold of £200 per week.

Existing applicants will not be affected unless they request an increase in their support needs. In this case the ILF will expect the local authority to increase their input to at least £320 per week. Existing applicants will be able to request an increase due to an increase in the cost of the support e.g. a change in the hourly rate without being subject to the new £320 per week threshold.

The ILF are also tightening up their rules on backdating payments as well as prioritising applicants in paid employment and applicants on Income Support, Job Seekers Allowance and Pension Credit Guarantee.

 Of course, many Disabled People are asking why the ILF has made this sudden decision. According to the ILF, since summer 2006, there has been a 27% rise in applications and therefore a change in policy was necessary, The ILF also claim that 53% of current applications already meet the new £320 per week threshold. They also point out that the threshold of £200 per week has remained the same for the past 15 years. 

Local authorities have been sent reeling from the news and some local authorities have prioritised new ILF applications in the hope of beating the April 1 deadline.

The last few months has seen an influx of new faces at SCIL and a few familiar faces changing their role within the organisation. Here’s a quick round up of some of the new people you may come across in 2008:

Jenny Harris – Receptionist / Administrator  - Hi, my name is Jenny, and I will be the first person you meet or speak to when you visit or ring us here at SCIL.  I started at SCIL back in August and have taken on the role of receptionist / administrator.  Before I began my role here I lived in Newcastle and worked as a customer service advisor for Halifax PLC.  I’m originally from Southampton but left in 2004 to go to university in Newcastle where I studied Architecture.   

Michael Grimmett – Independent Living Support Worker(Recruitment) - I’m Michael Grimmett and I applied for the role, because I have the benefit of meeting people and hiring PAs from various backgrounds and cultures. I am very much enjoying this role, due to the wide range of people that I come in contact with everyday. Michael’s direct dial number is 023 8020 2636 or email Michael@southamptoncil.co.uk 

Frances Caws – Direct Payments Support Worker (Havant / Petersfield) - I wanted the job as a Direct Payment Support Worker because I saw the job as a challenge, I enjoy meeting people and if I can help others in anyway I find it very rewarding. Having previously worked for SCIL as a receptionist I enjoyed working for the organisation and thoroughly believes what it stands for. Frances’ direct dial number is 023 8020 2633.or email Frances@southamptoncil.co.uk 

Ami McIntosh – Direct Payments Support Worker (Southampton) -Hi, my name is Ami. I am a new Direct Payments Support Worker and will be covering the Southampton area. I wanted this job as I have been a service user now for approx three years. Receiving direct payments drastically improved the quality of mine and my daughter’s lives. This is something I feel so many more people should benefit from and would love to play a part in making it possible. I have only been here a couple of weeks and am so far enjoying every minute. I can’t wait to get out there start meeting people and hopefully become a valuable part of the direct payments team at SCIL. Ami’s direct dial number is 023 8020 2643 or email Ami@southamptoncil.co.uk 

Amanda Hames who many of you know through Hampshire Coalition of Disabled People (HCODP), is a new Management Committee member. As a disabled person she is fully committed to furthering the rights and widening the opportunities of Disabled People to be fully included and participate equally in our Society.  Amanda is currently the Campaigns & Development Officer for HCODP and has been in post for the last six years. During this time she has acquired a great deal of experience in disability issues. She is also HCODP’s Company Secretary and a Director of Unity 12 Limited which has equipped her with knowledge and understanding of company matters.

Jeremy Long Price has also changed role and is now the Support Broker in Southampton supporting People with Physical Impairments and Older People to use Self Directed Support.

We would also like to welcome Nigel and Julie to SCIL who are Work Support Assistants for Frances and Michael respectively.    

In a much anticipated move, it has finally been announced that Self Directed Support via an Individual Budget will be offered across the UK to every Disabled adult and Older person who is eligible for social care services.

Currently just over 100 local authorities are piloting self directed support, however from April 2008, all local authorities will have to offer this. The individual budget could either be paid directly to the individual via a direct payment or the council may still hold on to the money but  an individual would have more control over when and how the council spend that money.

The media over the weekend very much focussed on the fact that older people could now be given cash to purchase their own support. The fact that Older People have been able to get Direct Payments since April 2000 seems to have passed journalists by.

Southampton will be rolling out their self directed support scheme  from January 2008 and SCIL have now taken on a support broker who will work with people with physical impairments and older people who want to switch to an individual budget.

One confusion is the number of names this particular scheme seems to have. Individual budgets, self directed support, In Control, and personal budgets are all being used to describe the same thing. SCIL has decided to adopt the term self directed support until a consensus is agreed nationally.

We will be putting a lot more information on the blog over the coming months but if you want to know more, particularly about plans in Southampton, then please contact Jeremy Long Price, our new Self Directed Support Broker on 023 8020 2642 or email Jeremy@southamptoncil.co.uk

P.S. We added a poll, just for fun, on our message board where you can name this latest government policy. Go on, Vote Now!