Making It Personal
Social Care in Liverpool has changed.
As part of recent Government legislation, people who use services will see them become more 'personalised' as they are able to have more choice and control over the support they receive.
In the future, everyone who is eligible for publicly-funded social care will have access to a personal budget, should they choose to. This will be a clear, up front allocation of funding to enable them to make informed choices about how best to meet their needs, including their broader health and well-being.
Having an understanding of what is available will enable people to use their money flexibly in a way they want to. This means that they won't have to pick from existing services, but will be able to decide what support they want.
This means people who use services in Liverpool will be able to take all or part of their personal budget as a direct payment, to pay for their own support either by employing individuals themselves or for purchasing support through an agency.
Others may wish, once they have decided on their preferred care package, to have Liverpool City Council continue to pay for this directly. The approach, which may be a combination of both, will depend on what works best for them. The major emphasis will be on giving people "choice and control" over their health and well-being.
This is a major piece of work which will transform the social care system in Liverpool and will allow individuals in the city to make real choices, and take control, with appropriate support whatever their level of need.
Liverpool is already classed as an "excellent" adult social care authority, but we realise we cannot afford to stand still and have to take this opportunity to move services in forward.
The Transforming Social Care agenda is perhaps the biggest change in Social care for the past 20 years.
Good news
Liverpool has emerged as the best local authority in the north west for providing information about personalised care services.
The city council came out on top in the region in a review by Livability - the national disability charity - which surveyed disabled people and checked the information available over the telephone and on websites. To read the press release follow this link![(MS Word [90.5Kb] opens in new window)](/images/Word.gif)
As we continue to move forward we will continue with our information and communication events to get your views and thoughts about how things are changing .