What is the Right to Control?
The Right to Control is a new legal right for disabled people. It gives disabled people more choice and control over the support they need to go about their daily lives. Disabled adults living in seven test areas will be able to combine the support they receive from six different sources and decide how best to spend the funding to meet their needs.
Disabled people will be able to choose to:
- continue receiving the same support;
- ask a public body to arrange new support;
- receive a direct payment and buy their own support;
- have a mix of these arrangements.
What are Trailblazers?
Trailblazers are areas where the Right to Control is being tested, for up to two years. Seven local authority areas are working with Jobcentre Plus to test how the Right to Control will work for disabled adults. The Office for Disability Issues (ODI) will evaluate the Trailblazers which will inform a decision about wider roll out.
Who are the Trailblazers?
Seven local authority areas are testing the Right to Control. Five Trailblazers started on 13 December 2010. They are:
- Essex County Council;
- Leicester City Council;
- London Borough of Barnet;
- London Borough of Newham;
- Surrey County Council (two parts only: Epsom and Ewell Borough Council and Reigate and Banstead Borough Council);
- Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council and Sheffield City Council started on 1 March 2011;
- Greater Manchester (including Manchester City Council, Oldham Council, Bury Council, Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council and Trafford Council) started on 1 April 2011.
Right to Control in Manchester
Service Outline
From 1 April 2011, if you live in Manchester and you start to receive one of the types of support listed below you will be able to choose and control how money is spent to support you to achieve what you want in life:
- Access to Work;
- Adult Social Care;
- Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG);
- Independent living fund (ILF);
- Supporting People;
- Work Choice.
The Right to Control is a new right for disabled adults. It will give you more choice over the support you get and more control in your daily life.
The government has worked with disabled people to create the Right to Control. This new right means you can have more control over the social care, housing related support and employment support and funding you get.
So instead of receiving services you could take a cash payment and buy different services, support or equipment to help you live your life your way.
What is the Manchester Area Partnership?
The Manchester Area Partnership (MAP) is a Trailblazer made up of the Greater Manchester Coalition of Disabled People, Breakthrough UK, Jobcentre Plus, Independent Living Fund (ILF) and Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Stockport and Trafford Councils.
The Manchester Area Partnership will be testing the Right to Control from April 2011. At first it will be for new customers only. The aim is to offer it to existing customers at their review/reassessment.
Who has the Right to Control?
You have the Right to Control if you are a disabled adult living within a Trailblazer and you start to receive support from one or more of these services:
Access to Work
Support for disabled people in work and help to get to work.
Work Choice
Support for disabled people to help them learn new skills, find work, stay in work and get continued support while in work.
Local council social care services to support people who have care needs, including community equipment services.
Disabled Facilities Grant
Money from the local council to pay for changes to a disabled person’s home to make it accessible to them.
Independent Living Fund (ILF)
Money for disabled people who need extra help to live at home. ILF is not available to new customers.
Supporting People
Housing support to help people to keep their independence in their own home in the community.
The organisations providing the support services have a responsibility to tell you when you have the Right to Control.
They must also tell you how much money you have to spend, give you information and advice about developing your support plan, the other types of support available to you and how to make a complaint if you are unhappy.
What does the Right to Control mean for me?
Having the Right to Control means you will have more control over your Support Plan. Organisations will work together to help you get the outcomes you want.
You will have more choice over how money in your support plan is spent. You can choose the support that is offered, ask for another form of support from another provider or have the money paid direct to you so that you can arrange your own support.
We may need to share your information with other people but we will ask you for your permission. This could be where you can get support from more than one organisation and it will mean that you will not need to keep telling people the same things. The Office for Disability Issues might contact you to ask about how Right to Control has worked for you.
Information and Support
The Manchester Area Partnership has asked Breakthrough UK Ltd, a disabled people’s organisation, to be a Centre for Independent Living (CIL).
The CIL will work closely with other disabled people’s organisations in the area, and will work in partnership with the five local authorities, Jobcentre Plus and the ILF to develop a range of support options. They will provide support for disabled people who are, or may be, eligible for the Right to Control.
In addition, the Manchester Learning Disability Partnership (MLDP) will have details and information of organisations offering support to people, families and carers.
For more information please click on the links below.
- Best practice in support planning
- Planning your support
- Good practice guide for delivering the Right to Control
- A Step-by-Step Guide to Support Planning
- making your support plan easy
- the right to control
- your right to control
anna@mldp.org.uk
Or info@talbothouse.org.uk
mcrpeoplefirst@googlemail.com
kay@himmat.org.uk
