Self-Directed Support given £700K promotional boost

Following an Age Scotland survey last year, which revealed that 84% of all people aged over-50 had never heard of Self-Directed Support (SDS), charities across Scotland are now set to benefit from almost £700,000 in Scottish Government funding to improve the information they provide thousands of disabled and older people and carers about the policy.
The money is to help organisations working with people who have physical disabilities, learning disabilities, mental health issues, dementia and sensory impairments to reinforce the goals of the Scottish Government's national Self-Directed Support Strategy, in particular ‘…that people are enabled to live  independently, for as long as possible, in their own homes and communities'.
The Strategy and the Self-Directed Support Bill, to be introduced in the Scottish Parliament in the coming months, is aimed at putting people who receive social care services in the driving seat, giving them more of a say in what services they think will best help them to live in their own homes and communities and offering them the chance to change their lives for the better.
Age Scotland spokesman Lindsay Scott said: "This new funding from the Scottish Government should address some of the issues we picked up regarding the public's awareness of Self-Directed Support. Our survey of 1000 over-50s revealed that the figure for those who were unacquainted with it increased over each older age group, with almost nine out of ten (89%) of over-70s the least familiar.
The following allocations have been made for this year:
Alzheimer Scotland - £16,635, Ayrshire Independent Living Network - £27,934, Borders Independent Advocacy Service - £15,816, Borders Direct Payment Agency - £17,925, Cornerstone - £32,500, Direct Inclusive Collaborative Enterprise - £17,500, Dundee Carers Centre - £43,906, Equal Say Advocacy - £20,000, Glasgow Centre for Inclusive Living (development of case management system for access by users) - £57,697, Glasgow Centre for Inclusive Living (development of support and brokerage service for new groups) - £59, 004, Minority Ethnic Carers of Older People Project - £23,176, Outside the Box - £48,268, Princess Royal Trust for Carers - £30,112, Self Directed Support Scotland - £100,700, Scottish Personal Assistant Employers Network - £109,300, SDS Forum East Renfrewshire - £42,097, Stroke Association - £17,985 and Tagsa Uibhist - £10,909.
More than 3,500 people across Scotland are already choosing to use Self-Directed Support but the Scottish Government hopes that many more will follow this route, which encompasses direct payments and provides individual budgets for people to buy or arrange their own support packages to meet their assessed personal, social and healthcare needs.
Tweet