Self-directed Support: Draft Guidance on Care & Support - Easy-Read Summary

Section 5 Support planning

5.1 The support plan

The professional should use this Guidance and the principles on pages 8-9 when he or she works with the person to write a support plan.

A good support plan is easy for the person to read or understand. It can be in any format. It may have pictures as well as words.

The support plan should say what the person wants to achieve with the right help. It must not be just about keeping things the same or stopping things from getting worse.

A good support plan will be easy to use and to keep up-to-date.

The person, the professional, carers, and anyone else that the person wants, must be able to:

• look at the plan
• check how the plan is working
• add to the plan
• change the plan when this is needed.

5.2 Risk

Support planning looks at risks.

A risk is anything that may cause harm to a person. A risk is something that could happen in the future but it may not happen.

Managing risks means doing something to make it less likely that any harm will happen.

It is important that the professional and person work together to identify any risks and what to do to manage these risks.

It is important that the person gets the chance to take some risks if:

• the person understands the risk
• it will give the person a good experience
• there is a proper balance between the risk and the good experience.

It is important to look at the risk of not doing something as well as the risk of choosing a particular support option.

5.3 Resources

Support planning looks at all the resources that a person may have or be able to use. This is not just money but can include skills, ideas and people that they know.

If the person is eligible for care and support, this may be given as a budget (sum of money).

The person's budget is the amount of money that the council thinks the person will need in order to buy support.

There is not ONE system of deciding a budget. It will be different in different local council areas.

Each council should have a system of deciding a budget that is fair and clear to everyone. Each council should ask people who get support, and carers, for their ideas about the best system for deciding budgets.

The amount of support in the support plan should be enough to meet the needs that were identified in the assessment.

5.4 Options

There are 4 options in the Self-directed Support Act.

The person must be told about ALL of the options and get the chance to choose.

Option 1 - Direct payment

The council will give the person a direct payment. This is a sum of money.

The person will use this money to buy support.

The person can use the money in any way they wish as long as:

• they get the support they have agreed with the professional
• it meets the outcomes in their support plan.

The person can use the money to employ their own staff, buy support services from a care organisation or from the local council.

With a direct payment, the person has the most choice and control. They also have the most responsibility for arranging things.

See section 9 for more information on direct payments.

Option 2 - The person directs the support

Under option 2, there is a budget but it does not pass to the person.

The person must be told how much money is available for the things in their support plan. They decide how the money is used for their support.

The money can stay with the council or be passed to a care organisation to hold for the person.

One way to use Option 2 is an Individual Service Fund.

• The council says how much money is in the person's budget.
• The person chooses the support they want.
• The council can give the money to one or more care organisations to hold for the person.
• The person says how the money should be used.
• The person can ask for some of the money to be used to buy support from other care organisations too as part of their support plan.

Under Option 2 a person cannot employ their own staff. Apart from that, the person can have as much choice and control as they want.

Option 3 - The council arranges support

The professional will talk with the person and will arrange support for the person.

The council must make sure that support services can offer different kinds of support and can change to meet the needs of each individual person.

The council must make sure that care and support staff:

• know about the values and principles in this Guidance
• use the values when they provide support.

Option 4 - Mix and match

In Option 4, the person will choose to use a mixture of the other options.

This gives people a lot of choice.

It will suit people who want some control over their support but who do not want to decide everything.

For example, the person can try out a direct payment (Option 1) or an Individual Service Fund (Option 2) for part of their support or for some of their outcomes.

Limits to choice

Sometimes, the person will not be able to choose a particular option or type of support.

There are 2 reasons

1. The law says the council cannot offer Option 1 to some people

There are rules that say the professional cannot offer a direct payment to some people.

The rules for direct payment are in the Draft Regulations (separate paper). Please look at these for more information.

2. The professional thinks a type of support will not meet the needs of the person

The professional must make sure that people get support that is suitable for their needs and will help them achieve their outcomes.

Sometimes the professional may decide that the person is choosing a type of support that will not meet the needs identified in the assessment. Then they can refuse to give money in the budget for this type of support.

The professional must explain why the support is not suitable and try to agree another type of support with the person.

The professional must tell the person that they have a right to complain to the council about any decisions. After they have used up the local council complaints scheme, they can complain to the Public Services Ombudsman or go to court.

5.5 Information and support

One of the principles is:

• Informed choice.

An informed choice is when a person has information they can understand and uses this to decide and choose what they want.

The council must give the person information about

• all the options for self-directed support
• how to manage support
• where else to get information and help.

This information must be in writing and available in other formats too.

All the information does not have to come from the council. It can come from other organisations like user groups, disability services, and advice centres.

Advocacy services can also help some people to say what they want to happen. The professional must tell people about independent advocacy services and how to get advocacy support if they think the person will benefit from this.

Think about the information in Section 5. Is it clear?