- Generations collaborate on art displays
- New walking bus keeps children healthy
- 90 seconds to put borough on the big screen
- Offer day - secondary school places announced
- Join in Holi Festival and bring spring colour to the borough
- Schools Minister agrees funding for Academies
- Borough celebrates Dignity in Action
- Two way cycle route in latest stage of £2m upgrade
- Teenagers speak out on crime
- Twickenham bucks trend as more shops open
- Businesses come together to promote services
- Dance fever hits borough
- Wanted: borough’s best young sports stars
- Making cycling easier for pupils
- Free food waste recycling bags now available
- New site secured for primary school places
- Decision to permit Heathrow third runway facing Judicial Review today
- Council urges people to stop and think during LGBT history month
- One week to go in Crane Park consultation
- Love is in the air at Castelnau Library
- New Hampton Hill Library Opens
- Christmas Trees Recycled
- Sport for a £1
- Guilty of selling cigarettes to girl, 15
- Holiday activities for families and young people
- Council freezes Tax in response to recession
- Crane Park Plans on display
- Borough runners head for marathon course
- Darell Primary art decorates Mayor's parlour
- Sergeant Lisa to help keep schools safe
- Flood strategy should pay more attention to Teddington - Council
- Keeping children safe on our roads
- Council inline for city transport awards
- Working with people to deliver better services
- Hundreds flock to say hello
- Councillor suspended for one month
- Report potholes through web service
Release Date: 05/02/2010
Working with people to deliver better services
More vulnerable people in Richmond upon Thames are getting the right support to live an independent life than any other borough in the capital, new figures have shown.
Self Directed Support, where older people and adults with disabilities are able to receive a personal budget to arrange the right care for them, has been operated by Richmond Council since August 2007.
Now at least 1,200 residents, and their families or carers, are using the programme. This is more than 40 per cent of the total who are registered with the department.
Cllr Denise Carr, Richmond Council’s Cabinet Member for Adult Services, Health and Housing, said: “We made an early commitment to give people a new way of receiving their care, with more choice and control over their support, and this is really paying off.
“Individuals with care needs, and their families, are the best ones to decide what is needed to live a full life. We will always offer advice, but ultimately, giving people the choice has got to be better than being told what should happen to them.
“Looking after older people and others who need help has become a huge concern for many families. These figures show the positive changes we’re bringing to many peoples’ lives. They back up our commitment to this new method of looking after our community, but in a way that also saves money through being a more efficient operation, which is vital as we deal with the long term effects of this recession. “
Detailed interviews undertaken for the Council with 19 people using Self Directed Support showed more than 60 per cent reported a better quality of life. Seventy five per cent said SDS has helped give them control over their lives.
Among the areas in which SDS budget recipients spend the money are: help at home, transport, a personal helper, time at a day centre, and short breaks.
View the full press release