Plans to give disabled cash to control care

Almost 30 private sector care organisations have joined to support plans to allow disabled people to buy their own alternatives to council-run social care.

A “self-directed-support” programme, backed by almost £6 million of Scottish Government funding, is designed to give people who receive social care increased independence and control over their own care needs.

One part of the programme is an initiative called “Changing Support, Changing Lives”.

The Scottish Government is preparing a Self-Directed Support Bill, which will place a duty on local authorities to offer disabled people the option of cash to arrange their own private care, or to have it allocated to a provider of their choice, as an alternative to council-run care.

A group of bodies, including Enable Scotland, In Control Scotland and Institute for Research and Innovation in Social Services (IRISS) will organise events to help private care providers prepare for the new agenda.