Direct Payments in the UK - Essay Example

100264 Introduction This paper will in details, explore the issues of direct payments in the UK. For comprehensive analysis of the topic, it will cover issues relating to social understanding, current statute law and policy that relates to among other things, the financial processes. This will include the role of the social work in direct payments and its implications, how the current budget cuts are affecting direct payment and the policies that aim at using direct payments in personalisation. Besides this, the issue of anti-discriminatory practices will also be reviewed and how they have impacted on direct payments. Social policy came into being due to the need for a policy to be used in administering the benefits that people who work in public services need. This mainly deals with the type of service delivery and organization. In this, it is categorised into five main sectors and these include private that involves provision of profit to the commercial organization. In order to achieve this, there is need for a breakdown of public administration into agencies to ensure efficiency. As a result, national agencies like the National Health Service arose with the role of supervising social security. In addition, the services offered to the public should be compared to economic markets where it is service user driven to ensure competition and provision of the strongest health and social care service (Spicker 2010, p.1). Hothersall & Bolger (2010, p.17), state that the government policy has been advocating strongly for direct payments. Direct payments have also been viewed as a means of empowering the service user in order to be some form of co-producers of welfare. Besides this, other issues that are raised about personal payments include: supply, pay and working conditions of assistants employed on direct payments. This is attributed to the fact that it cannot be sustained unless the service user manages effectively the direct payments that have been given. Originally direct payments were outlawed and any such payments had to be done indirectly or under third parties. However with the NHS & Community Care Act 1990 things changed; the Act put in place arrangements that allowed for management and delivery of social care. This was as a result of the 1989 White paper, “Caring for People: Community Care in the Next Decade and beyond”. This led to the government seeking new and strong independent sectors beside the public services. This led to the wide array of services that included the public, private and voluntary sectors and this was even boosted further by the 1999 White Paper ‘Modernising Government’. This came along with tighter regulation about service standards and strict audits that included inspection regimes. This is aimed at ensuring the direct payments led to quality services to the service users. Due to this, it is very important for evaluation of the implementation of direct payments especially in consideration to marketing and modernisation of the social care (Ridell et al 2006, p.2). The Community Care Act of 1996 came into force in 1997 in England, Wales and Scotland. However, at the time access became limited to those of ages between 18-65 years. Later in 2000, changes were made that allowed carers to receive the payments. The Health and Social Care Act 2001 mandated the local authorities to give direct payments to all qualified in community care services and had to be consented to in order to manage the direct payments. Later, Community Care and Health Act of 2002 also made it mandatory for Scottish local authorities to give direct payments to qualified client groups (Ridell et al 2006, p.3). Ridell et al (2006, p.4), states that direct payments are for the purpose of social services in which case a person wants to arrange and pay for it personally. The payments can be made to any disabled person who is at least the age of 16 or above. A parent or carer is also eligible to receive direct payments; this will include parents or persons giving care to children who may be disabled. In the case of people who have impaired mental health, the payment can be withheld if they have not given consent to such a service. This is because the law states that each person has to give consent in order to receive the payments. Besides this, a person receiving the direct payment for the persons with impaired mental health will have to know how the direct payment should be used. According to the ministerial concordat launched in 10 December 2007, “the vision for the people to be able to live their own lives as they wish; confident that services are of high quality, safe and promote their own individual needs for independence, well-being, and dignity”. And that clearly shows how the direct payments should be spent (Ridell et al 2006, p.4). Despite this direct payments have been successful, the 2011 National Personal Budget Survey of 2000 users and carers reflected positive effects of the personal budgets they were allocated. Most of the users indicated that there were improvements in areas that were using the personal budgets that were being sponsored by the direct payments. This was boosted by value added through support in the planning process by family carers despite the budget being managed by the local authorities; who are keen on maintaining the control over resources that are allocated through the direct payments this has led to bureaucracy that is mainly undertaken by the social workers due to the personalisation that is taking place (Samuel 2011, p.1). According to the Health and Social Care Act of 2008, the National Health Service should ensure “the provision of health and social care services in a way that focuses on the needs and experiences of people who use those services”. This has been done through the direct payments that personalised the care being given. Personalised Care according to the Personal Care Act of 2010 is services that include “physical assistance to a person in connection with eating, drinking, toileting, washing, dressing and oral care”. This personalisation of care is particularly significant for persons who are disabled either mentally or physically. The new coalition government has put emphasis on direct payments being given to carers and the establishment of a commission to review the whole process after a period of about one year (Newman 2009, p.10). According to Burstow (2011, p.1), the coverage of direct payments has been expansive. The total number of people who have been receiving direct payments in 2009-10 rose to about 217,000. Among these, 107,000 users got direct payments and this translates to an increase of about 24% as compared to the previous year. In addition, 48,000 carers received direct payments and this is an increase of 56% as compared to the previous year. Hence a total of 155,000 people received direct payments. The main aspects in this are the achievement of equity and efficiency financially among the public service providers. This is an interface between the economic and social policies to ensure that all public institutions generate enough revenue for stability and sustainability. Besides this, this should be done in a manner that will ensure there is achievement of goals as required democratically and economic development. However the ability to achieve these policies is affected by the fiscal policy along with productive structures that have been put up. This has been as a result of increased liberalization of the trade and flow of capital. In order for efficiency to be achieved, there will be need for allocation of resources to some of the public agencies in order to achieve competitiveness through a national economic policy making. In addition there is need of research on financial policy from the past in order to understand challenges hence assist in developing suitable counteractive measures (Newman 2009, p.108). Personalisation came into being due to the need to tailor support individual needs that have personal budgets centred towards delivering individual choices and control. By adopting this, it enables people to lead lives as they choose and achieve such outcomes. Due to this, the aim is to safeguard the self-belief through mutual support. In addition, it helps reduce any risk of self harm or abuse. This includes the respect and recognition of other people as citizens or members of the community by supporting them. Others include equality, fair access to services, prevention and early intervention to some conditions and supporting the carers. (Vrieze 2006, p.17) Through social workers, social work practice is able to take responsibility of protecting people who are at risk of abuse or inflicting self harm. This is done through an assessment of the services that such people need at their homes. In doing so they are able to arrange for a manner that these people will receive direct payments so as to buy their own services. The social worker after initial assessment will give feedback to the necessary health and housing services that the person may require in assistance (White Paper 2006, p.7). Hampshire County Authority (2007, p.2) states that in doing this, the services will be given in direct payments to ensure their independence. In addition, the conditions set for people who can receive the direct payment will also be put under review implying that the people who can access this will be cut down. According to the Social Care Policy DH (2010, p.3), the direct payments is a policy that is aimed to “promote participants mental health and well being”. In Anti-Discriminatory practice that relates to direct payments, those who are eligible for direct payments have the right to receive the payment duly and manage it. This can be done through checks to the bank and one can opt to either appoint a care giver or special equipment to assist in undertaking various duties In some cases the payments have been withheld on the basis that the beneficiary may not be able to handle the direct payments or lacking the adequate knowledge needed. In conclusion, direct payments are improving with each day. However to ensure that there is competition on the level of care being given, the number of care providers should be increased. This will result in service users being able to choose the appropriate service for them. In the long run this will improve the level of service that service users can access and eventually assist in achieving the level of service that personalisation aimed to achieve. Reference Beresford, P., 2007, The changing roles and tasks of social work; from service user’s perspectives, Natural User Network, Pp 14-24. Burstow, P., 2011, Parliament Business, viewed on 14th December 2011, Department of Health, 2007, Independence, choice and risk; a guide to best practice in supported decision making, viewed on 5th December 2011, http://www.sutton.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=6721&p=0. Hampshire County Council, 2007, Putting People First. [pdf]. Available at [Accessed 12 Dec 2011]. Hothersall, S. & Bolger, J., 2010, Social Policy for Work, social care and the caring professions: Scottish perspectives, Boston: Ashgate Publishing, P. 17. Leadbitter, C., 2004, Personalisation through participation: a new script for public services, New York: Demos, Pp. 34-37. Newman, S., 2009, Personalisation: practical thoughts and ideas from people making it happen, London: Pavilion Publishing Brighton Limited, Pp. 108. Ridell, S., Priestly, M., Pearson, C., Mercer, G., Barnes, C., Jolly, D. & Williams, 2006, ‘Disabled Persons and Direct Payments: A UK Comparative Study’ ESRC Award RES-000-23-0263 Samuel, M., 2011, Expert guide to direct payments, personal budgets and individual budgets, viewed 08 December 2011, Social Care Policy DH 2010, A Vision for Adult Social Care: Capable Communities and Active Citizens, viewed on 5th December 2011, http://www.cpa.org.uk/cpa_documents/vision_for_social_care2010.pdf Spicker, P., 2010, Social policy in the UK, viewed on 5th December 2011, http://www2.rgu.ac.uk/publicpolicy/introduction/uk.htm. Vrieze, P., 2006, Fundaments of Adaptive Personalisation, Paul Ton Vrieze. Pp.31. White Paper, 2006, Our Health, Our Care Our Say, viewed on 5th December 2011, http://www.nottinghamshirelmc.co.uk/images/files/content_80_1.pdf. Read More