Welfare Reform on the Web (May 2001): Services for Disabled People - UK

IMPLEMENTING DIRECT PAYMENTS: A POSITIVE ALTERNATIVE?

C. Dawson

Housing, Care and Support, Vol.4, Feb 2001, p.13-16

The Community Care (Direct Payments) Act 1996 enabled local authorities, for the first time, to make cash payments to individuals assessed as needing community care services. Paper considers the implementation of direct payments in the light of present understanding of independent living for disabled people. It concludes that for some people direct payments may offer a positive alternative to local authority service provision and offer a means by which disabled people may gain more control over their lives.