Rhetoric vs Reality? ….findings of an independent enquiry Louise Barry Merseyside Disability Federation North West Making it Real Launch 14 th May 2012

The Rhetoric 2011 virtually all NW local authorities reported good progress on ADASS milestones 2011 organisations of and for disabled people across NW saying different things To capture a narrative of the recent experiences of real people we set out to listen

We listened Seven events – Macclesfield, Warrington, Manchester, Kendal, Carlisle, Liverpool, Blackburn Participants from DPULOs, individual disabled people, family carers, provider organisations, and organisations for disabled people Online survey widely distributed

We learned Key themes emerged - present across NW, in spite of local variation in practice Problems with Panels Inconsistency of approach ◦ Hours allocation vs financial allocation ◦ Holiday vs respite ◦ Choice & control vs risk aversion & LA ‘managed accounts’ ◦ Early wins of creative support eroded by new world of cuts

And for the “To Do” list Culture change Market development Support for User Led and Disabled People’s organisations Advocacy support for individual disabled people Much more to do for people with ongoing community support needs to enable choice and control

personalisation in practice

Closing the rhetoric gap So if Local Authorities are reporting high success, and yet the people we listened to are reporting a very different reality – then how do we ensure we are closing this rhetoric gap?

Making it Real Affords us an opportunity to align our conversations and language at the very least Provides a framework on which we can deliver great outcomes for disabled people And allows for a true partnership approach to develop

“All that is valuable in human society depends upon the opportunity for development accorded the individual” Albert Einstein

Thank You NWDIP Personalisation Research Report free to download from Merseyside Disability Federation Registered Charity No Tel: