Self-care packages law approved

The Scottish Parliament recently unanimously approved a new law that should give greater independence to people who receive social care. The hope is that the Social Care (Self-directed Support) (Scotland) Act will give people greater choice and control over their lives.

The Self-Directed Support Act

The new law, which was approved by MSPs on 28^th November 2012, will oblige local authorities to offer a set of choices to people who are assessed as requiring care and support, and to provide information and assistance to help people to make those choices.

It will be up to the individual to decide how much control he or she wants to have.

Options for self-directed support

The options are detailed in the Act. They are:

“Option 1 - The making of a direct payment by the local authority to the supported person for the provision of support.

Option 2 - The selection of support by the supported person, the making of arrangements for the provision of it by the local authority on behalf of the supported person and, where it is provided by someone other than the authority, the payment by the local authority of the relevant amount in respect of the cost of that provision.

Option 3 - The selection of support for the supported person by the local authority, the making of arrangements for the provision of it by the authority and, where it is provided by someone other than the authority, the payment by the authority of the relevant amount in respect of the cost of that provision.

Option 4 - The selection by the supported person of Option 1, 2 or 3 for each type of support and, where it is provided by someone other than the authority, the payment by the local authority of the relevant amount in respect of the cost of the support.”

More choice and control

This could, for example, result in the assessed person receiving a direct payment to get support to live in their own home – such as help getting washed and dressed. It could also cover situations such as arranging support to attend college or take part in fitness activities.

"Most of us will at some point in our lives depend on social care – whether it’s for ourselves or a loved one,” said Public Health Minister Michael Matheson in March, when the Self-Directed Support Bill was published. “We have an obligation to ensure that care is both of the highest quality and as flexible and responsive to an individual’s needs as possible.”

"That’s why we want to see self-directed support – which gives people greater control over their own care – become the mainstream approach for social care in Scotland,” he said. “Self-directed support will play a key part in reshaping care and ensuring that people are supported to live in their own home where it is their choice to do so.”

New law welcomed

Age Scotland has welcomed the new law.

According to spokesman Callum Chomczuk, the legislation should help achieve the shift towards a person-centred social care that the charity view as vital if we are to escape from the existing ‘one size fits all’ mind-set.

“Self-directed Support puts user choice at the heart of the decision-making process and is an effective means of encouraging individuals to review the service they receive and consider whether and how it could be improved upon,” he said.

Raeside Chisholm Solicitors are based in Glasgow, Scotland and provide specialist legal advice for the elderly.