An article examined the relationships between disabled people and the delivery of public services by agencies in 'liberal' welfare states – Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. It explored concepts of 'promising practices' in administration and provision; practices in integrated service delivery; and evaluation research on the effects of individualized payments to disabled people.
Source: Michael Prince, 'Integrated and individualized service provision for people with disabilities: promising practices in liberal welfare states', Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice, Volume 13 Issue 5
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Dec
A think-tank report said that that each additional direct payment issued to someone with a learning disability between 2002 and 2010 had added £15-25,000 to local council expenditure on learning disability services. This might reflect the fact that personal budgets were identifying new and previously unmet needs, and it was possible that the new system would save money for other sectors such as the National Health Service: but it should nonetheless 'ring alarm bells' in central government about the pace of change. New measures were needed to assess the quality and impact of social care services, which could then be used to create a vibrant, competitive market that delivered best value for money.
Source: Daria Kuznetsova, Commissioning Care in the 21st Century, New Local Government Network
Links: Summary | Community Care report
Date: 2011-Nov
A new book examined the policy and practice that framed work with disabled people. It provided a critical review of the mainstream services available to disabled people, assessed the successes and failures of interagency working, and offered a model for future practice.
Source: Sally French and John Swain, Working with Disabled People in Policy and Practice: A social model, Palgrave Macmillan
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Nov
A report said that the coalition government's reform plan for the National Health Service risked perpetuating a system that left the families of many disabled children and young people struggling to fill the gaps. It highlighted poor co-ordination of appointments and care, poor communication between different parts of the system, and the difficulty of achieving continuity of care or a holistic approach to treatment and support.
Source: Elizabeth Andrews, Disabled Children and Health Reform: Questions, challenges and opportunities, Every Disabled Child Matters
Links: Report | EDCM press release
Date: 2011-Oct
A report examined how cuts to local authority social care budgets were affecting disabled people. Smaller budgets need not inevitably lead to front-line cuts, higher charges, or poorer quality services. There were ways – some innovative, some everyday and commonsense – to mitigate the impact of the cuts.
Source: Claudia Wood, Phillida Cheetham, and Tom Gregory, Coping with the Cuts, Demos
Links: Report | Summary | ADASS press release | Community Care report
Date: 2011-Sep
An article examined the early implementation of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 in health and social care in England. The initial implementation of the Act (and the related deprivation of liberty safeguards) had had only limited effectiveness in facilitating decision-making by people lacking capacity, promoting their best interests, and protecting their liberty. Future implementation needed to ensure that the rights of people lacking capacity, particularly people with dementia, were taken more seriously in health and social care and were better protected.
Source: Geraldine Boyle, 'Early implementation of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 in health and social care', Critical Social Policy, Volume 31 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Aug
An article examined the approach to disability adopted by the Common European Asylum System, and the barriers encountered by persons with disabilities seeking refuge in the European Union.
Source: Clara Straimer, 'Between protection and assistance: is there refuge for asylum seekers with disabilities in Europe?', Disability & Society, Volume 26 Number 5
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Aug
An article examined the way in which attempts to completely eliminate risk for disabled people could lead to diminished opportunities across life. It called for a move away from a 'protectionist paradigm' to a 'rights-based paradigm'. There should be a more inclusive approach, in which disabled people were involved in the process of risk management and in other decisions around combating violence and hostility against them.
Source: Chih Hoong Sin, Annie Hedges, Chloe Cook, Nina Mguni, and Natasha Comber, 'Adult protection and effective action in tackling violence and hostility against disabled people: some tensions and challenges', Journal of Adult Protection, Volume 13 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Jun
A report summarized research into decision-making about services and support by disabled people of working age and older. Having choice was important in improving health, maintaining independence, and retaining chosen identities: but exercising choice could be hampered by lack of information or acceptable options.
Source: Kate Baxter, Parvaneh Rabiee, and Caroline Glendinning, Choice and Change: Disabled adults and older people s experiences of making choices about services and support, Research Works 2011-04, Social Policy Research Unit (University of York)
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Jun
The High Court ruled that a local council had breached the human rights of a disabled man (with autism) by refusing to allow him to be placed in the care of his father. The council had incorrectly applied the deprivation of liberty safeguards under the Mental Capacity Act. The man had been sent to a residential care facility in order to give his father respite from caring for him in December 2009, and had then been kept there forcibly by the council until October 2010.
Source: London Borough of Hillingdon v Neary & Anor, High Court 9 June 2011
Links: Judgement | EHRC press release | BBC report | Community Care report
Date: 2011-Jun
The High Court ruled that Birmingham City Council had acted unlawfully over a decision to reduce its provision of care for disabled people, because its consultation process did not comply with anti-discrimination legislation.
Source: W, R (on the application of) v Birmingham City Council, High Court 19 May 2011
Links: Judgement | Birmingham Council press release | EHRC press release | BBC report | Guardian report | Public Finance report | Telegraph report
Date: 2011-May
A project report examined how resources could be transferred from traditional, local authority care-management systems for disabled people to user-led support, advocacy, and brokerage. The aim was to enable disabled people to have more choice and control over the support that they needed.
Source: Nick Campbell et al., Final Report from the Support Planning and Brokerage Demonstration Project, Office for Disability Issues | Val Williams and Sue Porter, Your Life, Your Choice: Qualitative research carried out as part of the 'Support, Planning and Brokerage' initiative, Office for Disability Issues
Links: Project report | Project report summary | Research report | Research summary
Date: 2011-May
An article examined the assistive technology content of the United Nations Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities from a basic human rights perspective, in order to clarify its limitations and opportunities for formulation of policies and implementation strategies.
Source: Johan Borg, Stig Larsson, and Per-Olof Ostergren, 'The right to assistive technology: for whom, for what, and by whom?', Disability & Society, Volume 26 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Mar
The inspectorate for healthcare and social care published its first monitoring report on the implementation of the deprivation of liberty safeguards, designed to protect the rights of people in care homes and hospitals in England who lacked the mental capacity to consent to their care or treatment.
Source: The Operation of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards in England, 2009/10, Care Quality Commission
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Mar
A paper said that the rights of disabled people were not adequately protected under the existing welfare system. Reforms were needed to ensure that the rights of disabled people were reflected in good laws and constitutional arrangements, and to ensure that everyone could get the support they needed to be a full citizen.
Source: Simon Duffy, A Fair Society and the Limits of Personalisation, Centre for Welfare Reform
Date: 2011-Mar