Trust Director speaks at personal budgets policy seminar
Director of Policy and Communications at The Royal Princess Trust for Carers, Alex Fox, has delivered a speech to an ippr policy seminar on individual budgets.
At the seminar, “A Budgets Report: The risks and opportunities of personal budgets”, experts examined the risks and potential of personal budgets across care and welfare services.
Mr Fox considered how the government’s plans could affect carers and the pros and cons of using individual budgets to integrate welfare and social care cost support for disabled people.
The presentation also looked at the family context to personal budgets, and argued that the logic of budget pooling and ceding control to service users at the individual level should be extended to whole families who wish to be considered as a family unit, as is the case for many families who are providing significant amounts of their own care.
Personal budgets give individuals a notional cash pot with which to choose the services and support they get.
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, James Purnell, delivered the opening address and was later joined by Ian Mulheirn, Chief Economist at the Social Market Foundation and Jason Strelitz, UK Poverty Advisor for Save the Children.
The event was organised with the support of Save the Children UK, The Princess Royal Trust for Carers and Crossroads- Caring for Carers.
Download the presentation