Selling individual budgets, choice and control: local and global influences on UK social care policy for people with learning difficulties

Authors:
BOXALL Kathy, DOWSON Steve, BERESFORD Peter
Journal article citation:
Policy and Politics, 37(4), October 2009, pp.499-515.
Publisher:
Policy Press

The authors of this article examine the influence of a range of national and international actors and networks on UK learning disability policy over the last 30 years, with particular focus on the policy shift towards individualised support and personalisation. Policy changes and developments within the UK are considered in the context of similar developments internationally and the extent to which personalisation can be sustained in the face of the scale and economic rationality of global markets is questioned. The article covers moves from institution to community, the Valuing People white paper and Valuing People Now consultation document and person-centred planning, direct payments and individual budgets, the personalisation of social care, people with learning difficulties and the disabled people's movement, the origins of direct payments policy in North America, marketing individual budgets, and key actors and agendas in the UK. The authors conclude that robust systems of accountability need to be developed that offer protection for users of individual budgets, including moving funding and service brokerage elements from local councils to local organisations, funding service user organisations to offer support and advocacy to users, and allocating funding to organisations of service users to enable them to develop links with service user groups beyond the UK.

Subject terms:
learning disabilities, personal budgets, personalisation, person-centred care, service brokerage, service users, social policy, social care, social care provision, direct payments, disabilities, government policy;
Location(s):
United Kingdom
Link:
Journal home page
ISSN online:
1470-8442
ISSN print:
0305-5736

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