Disabled People's Right to Control

Mark Harper Excerpts

Thursday 17th July 2014 Written Statements

[The Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Mr Mark Harper)]

The right to control pilot operated in seven areas of England between 12 December 2010 and 12 December 2013. The aims of the pilot were to bring together a number of different funding streams into a streamlined process that allowed disabled people choice and control over how funding for them was used to provide the care, support (including employment support) and equipment they needed; and to test the costs and benefits to public authorities.

The Government remain committed to the principles of personalisation and of providing disabled people with greater choice and control over how the funding they are entitled to is used by them or on their behalf. While the evaluation of this pilot may not have resulted in any measurable impact on outcomes, it was popular with those individuals who exercised their right to control and they valued the greater flexibilities it gave them. It also acted as a catalyst to developing local relationships and partnerships.

Since the right to control pilot began in 2010, developments in Government policy have increasingly recognised the importance of personalisation in the delivery of services. The Care Act 2014 enables greater choice and control for the individual in adult social care and also provides co-operation duties to support partnership working and the flexibility needed to maintain right to control style approaches at local level. We are in the process of introducing personalisation within the context of the disability and health employment strategy, to develop a more personalised approach to delivering employment support for disabled people.

Taking these changes into consideration together with the evaluation findings of the right to control pilot the Government have decided not to roll out the right to control nationally.

As required by the Welfare Reform Act 2009, a report on the operation of the pilot has been prepared, and I will place a copy of the report in the House Library.