Individual Budgets and Personalisation: A New Model for Integration?

The adult social care system will increasingly be characterised by ‘personalisation’. Maximising choice, control and power over the support services that people access is to be achieved principally by development of personal budgets. Already there are signs that the Government wants to extend the model from adult social care and to apply it to other areas of public service. The most obvious areas where the model could be transferred are health services (particularly in respect of long‐term conditions), and support for disabled children and their families. This article draws on findings from an in‐depth study on self‐directed support commissioned by the Department of Health. It highlights some of the challenges and opportunities which arise for authorities attempting to engage with personalisation and to develop more integrated responses to people's support needs. It is clear that the ‘Total Transformation’ to which many aspire will not be achieved overnight, but equally this is an area of policy change which cannot simply be left to the enthusiasts.