Telford & Wrekin Council must urgently review their decision to remove or significantly reduce activity and mileage costs from social care personal budgets. 

Implementing this change directly impacts on how and if a personal budget can be used due to the additional financial strain being put on families. There is also clear disparity in what is being communicated to families and what each disabled person receives, despite being assured by social care that it is the same rule for everyone.

From research some families are receiving higher contributions compared to others and some receive no contribution at all.

Implementation of the Care Act & Children & Families Act 2014 means there is a duty upon councils to produce a care and support plan and offer a personal budget following an assessment to ensure that disabled people’s and carers’ needs are adequately met. Personal budgets are supposed to promote flexibility, choice, control, and quality of life. They aim to give disabled people/carers the ability to take charge of the support they require in their best interests.

The Local Authority is contradicting the purpose of a personal budget by dictating which provider a family uses, what activities should be accessed, when the person should go and how far they should travel. These instructions completely disregard the disabled persons needs and associated risks, their interests, their choices, professional reports/documents and families wishes.

It should not be that the LA tell a family they need to reduce the number of support sessions/hours because the disabled person/family cannot cover the activity and mileage costs. In some cases families have declined their identified personal budgets because of this. The LA should fund what is required in order to meet the identified support needs and outcomes.

Please sign this petition urging Telford & Wrekin Council to review their unmanageble, disingenuous and non person centered budgets for the well-being of our disabled community and their families.