Community Care Personalisation survey 2013

Community care has today published the results of their annual personalisation survey. We are pleased to see that even at a time when social care teams and budgets are under severe and continued pressure, respondents remain optimistic that personal budgets can benefit people in the long term and that direct payments offer greater choice and control.

The survey shows the ongoing frustration at the bureaucracy that has evolved around implementing personalisation, with two thirds of respondents saying that paperwork was too complex for both teams and people who use services. The issue of Resource Allocation Systems continues to be a great source of concern, as too the need for more training. The survey also identified that the majority of support planning was still council-led rather than by people who use services, user-led organisations or independent brokers. Almost half of respondents saying this is how it should be.

Think Local Act Personal (TLAP) Chairs Marjory Broughton and Clenton Farquharson, who also sit on TLAP's National Co-production Advisory Group, say:
"We welcome the survey findings that respondents recognise the value of people who use support having real choice and control. Social workers have a very important role in enabling people who use services, families and carers to increase choice from the options currently available. By working alongside us, we can ensure there is room for everyone at the table to collectively tackle the challenge of improving care in really difficult circumstances."

Dr Sam Bennett, Director of Think Local Act Personal, says:
"The survey findings demonstrate both belief in the possibilities of personalisation and the continuing frustration with persistent obstacles: the cultural change required to shift power to people and their families; the technical challenges of allocating resources transparently and providing upfront indications of what money is available to support a person; and then doing both at a time of severe financial hardship.

"If the aspiration is for people to have genuine choice over who develops their support plan, then it is crucial to recognise the role disabled people's user-led organisations, carers and families can play in this. This could also reduce some of the burdens of paperwork. There remains much to be worked on by both practitioners and leaders. TLAP will soon be publishing a number of examples where councils have been taking positive steps to streamline self-directed support processes so that others can learn from those who are tackling the challenges locally."

The survey follows on quickly from the National Personal Budgets Survey (NPBS) undertaken by In Control and Lancaster University and published by Think Local Act Personal. Over 3,000 people using personal budgets and their families from over 22 local authorities were surveyed. TLAP's Martin Routledge and John Waters have blogged in Community Care about the link in findings between the two surveys.