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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| How far do managed personal budgets offer choice and control for older people using home care services? | | Corporate Author | Social Policy Research Unit - SPRU, University of York; NIHR School for Social Care Research |
| Publisher | National Institute for Health Research, London, 2013 |
| Pages | 4 pp (Research findings, 11) |
| Source | http://sscr.nihr.ac.uk/PDF/Findings/SSCRResearchFi... |
| Keywords | Finance [care] ; Social security benefits ; Independence ; Consumer choice ; Home care services ; Local Authority ; Research Reviews. |
| Annotation | Research commissioned by the School for Social Care Research from the Social Policy Research Unit (SPRU) at the University of York suggests that many older people may be missing out on the benefits of personal budgets (PBs), because they have limited opportunities to shape services to their personal preferences and circumstances. Older people are often unwilling to take on responsibility for managing a cash direct payment and employing their own carers. Therefore, most older people who used to pay for council-commissioned services (most commonly home care) have their PB managed by the local council. This in-depth study of three English councils (two unitary boroughs and one shire county) with large older populations and large proportions of people using managed PBs found that the main restriction on older people's choice and control was the level of the PB, which usually covered only essential personal care needs. The study also found that councils were retaining much of the decision-making power. Some restricted the tasks that home care agencies could undertake to personal care only, while others required any changes to care plans be approved by them. Flexible options for PBs such as time banking or Individual Service Funds were not fully utilised. Time banking, where time is saved from routine visits to use later on for alternative activities, was restricted in both availability and scope. This was due to fears by some home care agencies and older people that a PB would be reduced if the council perceived there was spare capacity that could be banked. Individual Service Funds, where budgets are held by home care agencies and managed in direct negotiation with users, did not appear to be fully operational in the study councils, as budgets were all still held by councils. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-131108215 P |
| Classmark | QC: JH: C3: WYC: NH: PE: 3A:6KC * |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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