A new pilot programme shows that disabled people can benefit from personalised services, but they need better support and frontline staff must think and work differently
The Office for Disability Issues has published early findings of an Ipsos Mori study into the impact of the Right to Control Trailblazers – an innovative pilot giving disabled people choice over how they spend money earmarked for their support. The underlying principle is that disabled people are best placed to know what they need and giving them the right to make these decisions will deliver better outcomes.
The pilot is more ambitious than previous personalisation initiatives such as individual budgets and personal budgets, which both primarily focus on social care. Right to Control embraces multiple funding streams – six in total – and cuts across three organisations that work together to deliver a streamlined service.
So does personalisation deliver better services and outcomes for disabled people?
When it works, disabled people tell us they get support that meets their needs, greater choice over how they want to be supported and more control over their lives. However, our research also shows that the benefits of personalisation are still elusive for many disabled people.
This is because personalisation is a huge cultural change with disabled people moving from decades of being passive recipients to playing an active role in planning and purchasing their support. There is reluctance and fear. Reluctance because many are not confident they can manage their budget. Fear because some think they may end up being worse-off.
Encouragingly, our research shows that where local authorities have put in place good support planning, information advice and guidance for disabled people and their families, these concerns can be overcome.
The cultural change required is not exclusive to disabled people. Our research shows that frontline staff also needs to think and work differently: challenging pre-conceptions about disabled people’s ability to determine what is best for them and to manage their own budget.
Some trailblazers are mentoring their staff as they deliver the Right to Control and working jointly with user-led organisations. User-led organisations have a key role to play in this and our research shows that they want to be involved.
For the Right to Control to succeed, the market also needs to change to meet fuelled-up demands for greater choice from disabled people. Local authorities and Jobcentre Plus are starting to move away from block contracts and framework agreements with providers of services but this comes at a cost. It will be important to understand in the final phase of the evaluation how providers are navigating this alongside the budget cuts they need to implement.
The Right to Control Trailblazers are experimenting with different ways of delivering personalised and joined-up support to disabled people. The evaluation will complete in December 2012, with a full report published in early 2013.
The evaluation has already unpicked evidence of good practice and lessons for the remaining duration of the pilot. There are examples of good work out there and in the current economic climate, where resources are stretched, sharing learning is key to delivering better services and outcomes for disabled people.
Claire Lambert is associate director at the Ipsos Mori Social Research Institute
