Direct payments

The safeguarding vulnerable groups bill aims to improve the system of checks on staff and volunteers who want to work in social care, health or education. However, it creates different levels of protection for children and vulnerable adults. This article sets out the concerns expressed by a small coalition of disability charities that argued for improvements to the bill during its passage through Parliament.

In the second of two articles, Barbara Pointon analyses the chaos of funding and benefits that rarely seem to help the people they are intended for, and asks again, ‘Whose service is it?’

In this video we meet Jim and Janet Swift, both keen travellers until Janet was diagnosed with dementia at the age of 58. Jim's account of their experience illustrates the widespread effect of a very rapid deterioration, and explores the sense of loss and loneliness that can be part of the caring role. His account also highlights the need for skilled, experienced support for carers – in this case provided by an Admiral Nurse - together with access to regular breaks from the caring role.

Looks at a government backed private member's bill which is seeking to extend the rights of carers.

Investigates the legal and practical issues surrounding the proposals to allow carers of people with severe dementia or profound learning difficulties to access 'indirect payments' through and expansion of the direct payments scheme. This would allow individuals who might not be able to access payments themselves to benefit from the flexibility and choice of direct payments.

Direct payments can now be made to older people. But a 12-month research project has revealed that service users, carers and junior staff still have little knowledge of them. The authors of the Shield research team, Anglia Polytechnic University, and Tower Hamlets Coalition of Disabled People explain that service users are cautiously optimistic about what direct payments offer them but are anxious about the practicalities.

This film focuses on Rose Fernandes who cares for her mother, who has dementia, and her daughter, who is autistic and has learning difficulties. She uses direct payments to pay for people to help with her daughter’s care, but for her mother she relies on agency staff. She finds this method tough as the agency staff only come at certain times, leaving her to care for her mum alone throughout the night. Meanwhile, her daughter Crystal receives much more flexible care, but direct payments leave her with a lot of paperwork to do. Note: This film is no longer available.

The Carers and Disabled Children Act (2000) has the potential to fundamentally change carers services and the way they are currently delivered. As yet, there is little published work that considers the implications of this Act either for local authorities or informal carers themselves. This paper examines the practical issues involved in the implementation of the Act in terms of: providing equitable services, defining terms, young carers and care package limits, local authority eligibility criteria and whether funding is adequate.

Independent assessment and access to direct payments are among the new rights accorded to carers under the Carers and Disabled Children Act 2000.

One year after people who lack mental capacity were given the right to use direct payments, Mithran Samuel finds take-up is disappointing. [Introduction]