Making it personal

Big changes in the delivery of adult social care are afoot and a recent conference brought together London local authority staff, service users and providers to look at the challenges and opportunities ahead. Ian Mitchell reports

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Direct payments and personal budgets are at the heart of the government's plans to personalise adult social care services around the needs of users.

The ministerial concordat 'Putting People First', published at the end of 2007, is just the latest initiative in a drive towards a system of adult care based on personalisation and self-directed support that is being described as the biggest shake-up in social care since the formation of the welfare state.

The massive expansion of direct payments and individual budgets is seen as central to the personalisation agenda and the government has committed an additional £520 million over the next three years to help bring about these changes.

The London Direct Payments Forum is the leading authority on direct payments in London and regularly brings together direct payments support services and local authority staff.

In June, the forum, in partnership with London Councils, the Greater London Authority (GLA) and the Care Services Improvement Partnership (CSIP), held a conference that brought together service users, carers, practitioners, support services and local authority staff to share their experiences and explore how to take self directed support forward in the capital.

The conference, called: 'If we are going to do it, let's do it right!' was chaired by the BBC disability correspondent Peter White. A report based on the findings from the conference is due to be published in October.

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