New Care Act support to help councils cut social care bureaucracy

A new web tool is available to help councils reduce unnecessary bureaucracy and simplify their social care systems so people experience better support.

The Personal Budgets Minimum Process Framework helps councils through common social care practice by suggesting simpler ways to meet people's needs.

Developed by Think Local Act Personal, the Framework lists what councils must do to meet their Care Act responsibilities, while also addressing many of the problems reported by people who use services, carers and families through various forums, including the National Personal Budget Surveys.

It covers ways to improve people's first contact with the council, their assessment, resource allocation and hospital discharge; as well as 'managing the money' (including direct payments), providing brokerage, developing care plans, and undertaking monitoring and reviews.

The Personal Budgets Minimum Process Framework has been designed for people who work in councils 'dip in and out' based on what issue they might be focusing on.

They can see what the legal requirements for personal budgets are, the common problems encountered with particular processes and ideas for possible solutions based on case studies from councils across England.

The Framework will change and grow over the coming months - people can comment on the processes, add their own suggestions and submit case examples they know about, particularly as people set their sights on the Care Act 2014 coming into force from April.

ADASS president and TLAP co-chair David Pearson says: "I welcome this new Framework , drawing on best practice to ensure that Personal Budgets can be provided in a way that is accessible to those who need them and those whose job it is to ensure that they are provided. Our ambition is delivers better outcomes for people who use services, people who pay for care themselves and carers."

Think Local Act Personal Director Sam Bennett says:"Research from the National Personal Budgets surveys carried out by Lancaster University and InControl suggests that people with social care needs using personal budgets have a better quality of life when the process and bureaucracy around social care systems is reduced. This tool will help councils to address this problem and will help free up the social care workforce from needless paperwork."

The Personal Budgets Minimum Process Framework was developed with a steering group including people with lived experience and carers from the National Co-production Advisory Group as well as representatives from councils across England and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services.

It can be downloaded from http://www.thinklocalactpersonal.org.uk/Personal-Budgets-Minimum-Process-Framework/

It is part of a suite of resources commissioned by the Department of Health in partnership with the Local Government Association and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services to support local government in implementing the Care Act 2014. For more information visit www.local.gov.uk/care-support-reform

More on the results of the National Personal Budget surveys: http://www.thinklocalactpersonal.org.uk/Latest/Resource/?coid=10343