Barking and Dagenham Individual Budgets

PROJECT CLOSED

Where did it start?

The Government first showed its commitment to piloting Individual Budgets in a number of policy documents:

Improving the life Chances of Disabled People (Strategy Unit, January 2005)
Independence, Well-being and Choice (Department of Health, March 2005)
Our Health, Our Care, Our Say (White Paper, January 2006)

Individual Budgets are an important part of the Government's agenda to give people who use public services more choice and control over the services that they receive. They build on the successful features of Direct Payments and other initiatives. They aim to develop self-directed support and places the person who is supported, or given services, at the centre of the process. This gives the person the power to decide the nature of their own support.

What is an Individual Budget?

Individual Budgets are a new way to organise the support you need. They bring together all the money you are entitled to and let you control how to spend it on the support you need.
An Individual Budget could include:

Social Care money;
Independent Living Fund;
Supporting People money;
Your own money.

Who can have an Individual Budget?

People who have been assessed as eligible for care services under the Fair Access to Care Services Guidelines [FACS].

How do I get an Individual Budget?

You will need to have an assessment from the local authority. This will be about care and will also cover other things like daily living, well-being, relationships and taking part in society. You will be told how much money you have for the year to spend on your care or support. Once this has been agreed you will need to write a support plan to show how you will spend your individual budget. You can get help from your family, friends or a support broker.

Where are we now?

In December 2007 the Government published "Putting People First, a shared vision and commitment to the transformation of social care." At the core of Putting People First is the proposal to establish a personalised Adult Social Care System.

Putting People First was followed by the publication "Transforming Social Care" in January 2008. This sets out to change the characteristics of social care from one based on the prescription of services, often commissioned through block contracts, to one based on greater user choice and control.

Services, and the approach to delivering services, will change as a result of transformation. The Government expects every local authority to have made significant progress with the transformation agenda by 2011.