Guide backs Individual Service Funds (ISFs)

Think Local Act Personal (TLAP), the Government funded agency that works to promote personalisation in Social Care, has just published important guidance encouraging local councils to make full use of Individual Service Funds.

In summary the guidance recommends:

• If people do not want a direct payment then they should be given the chance to pick an organisation to manage their personal budget for them.
• Service providers should be encouraged to use Individual Service Funds and offer flexible and creative support.
• Councils should move away from unnecessarily bureaucratic tendering regimes.

Dr Simon Duffy, Director of The Centre for Welfare Reform, was the primary author of the guide and he said:

"For too long people have been faced with an unnecessarily hard choice between taking full responsibility for their personal budgets or allowing councils to allocate them services from within the council's limited menu of contracted services. Furthermore, competitive tendering of social care is in conflict with human rights. People should decide for themselves who supports them and how they are supported."

The guide is available to download from TLAP's website:

http://www.thinklocalactpersonal.org.uk/ 

Simon Duffy has written an article for the Huffington Post UK and a blog for TLAP.

The Centre for Welfare Reform has published several research reports about the use of Individual Service Funds. Links are at the right hand side.