PRESS RELEASE OFFICIAL SDS ACT LAUNCH EVENT 1 APR 2014

Published: March 28, 2014

Launch of new legislation for people accessing care & support services in Scotland.

Embargoed: 31st March 12noon

Event and photo opportunity: Tuesday 1st of April 2014, 10.30am at Waverley Gate, 2-4 Waterloo Place, Edinburgh

On Tuesday 1st of April 2014 the Social Care (self-directed Support) (Scotland) Act will come into force.  To launch this landmark piece of legislation the disabled people’s organisation, Lothian Centre for Inclusive Living (LCiL) in partnership with the Scottish Government are hosting a national reception in Edinburgh.

During the event MSP, Minister for Public Health, Michael Matheson will join disabled people to officially launch the new legislation.  Disabled people, who use Self-Directed Support (SDS), will speak about how it has made a difference to their lives, including enabling them to contribute to the life of their communities and follow their own life-path.

The event is set to see a wide range of interactive materials, activities and interactive guides on offer, all of those enablingdisabled people and workers from across Scotland to find out more about how SDS can work in practice. The event is also being broadcast live from 11am on LCiL’s homepage for others to join the action and engage in Twitter using the hashtag #makeSDSwork

Florence Garabedian, Chief Executive of LCiL had this to say about the event:

We are delighted to launch this significant piece of legislation on the 1st of April in partnership with the Scottish Government. For over fifty years disabled people and their organisations, like LCiL, have argued that in order to live more independent lives disabled people need to have control over what support they can choose from and how they receive it..  SDS provides the opportunity for this using an approach that takes into account their ambitions and goals in life and offers greater flexibility.  If resourced and implemented in the spirit of the Act SDS is an important means to address some of the barriers that disabled people and people with long-term conditions, of all ages, face on a daily basis.    

Suselle Boffey disabled women who use SDS and a campaigner for Independent Living in Scotland said this:

This piece of legislation is an important milestone in recognising the rights of disabled people as equal citizens.  Support to live independently is a human right.  It often demands some energy and determination to find the right level of support.  However, through accessing information and support through support organisations like LCiL, I have support available through Personal Assistants (PA) I employ, which enables me to choose when to wash my hair, when to go shopping, whether or not to go to the cinema or visit friends.  I am able to volunteer to take positions of trust within organisations I support, in the knowledge that a PA is always on hand.  These are activities which most non-disabled people take for granted. 

For more information please contact Information and Communications Coordinator, Kirstie Henderson on 0131 475 2467/2350 or email: Kirstie.henderson@lothiancil.org.uk  (during office hours). Out-with office hours: 075401 65829

Notes to editors:

The Social Care (self-directed Support) (Scotland) Act will come into force from the 1st of April 2014.  This landmark piece of legislation will mean that anyone being assessed for care and support via the local authority must be offered more choice about what and how they receive support. People should  have their needs assessed in relation to outcomes (what they want to achieve with the support they receive). This should be be done as a conversation with a social worker where possible outcomes are discussed.  They also should:

  • be helped to make a plan of how they spend the budget to achieve their outcomes
  • be told the overall amount of money in their individual budget (in £s, rather than hours of service)
  • be given four options for how they receive support:
  1. A direct payment,
  2. the responsibility for financial management of the budget stays with the local authority, but the individual chooses what services it is spent on,
  3. the local authority decides what services the individual receives,
  4. a combination of options 1, 2 and 3

Lothian Centre for Inclusive Living (LCiL): LCiL has been working with disabled people across Lothian for the last 20 years, to support them to take control of their lives and live independently in the community.  As a user-led charity all our services respond to needs identified by disabled people and offer a range of practical and emotional support to promote their equal participation in all aspects of society (see more information below).

LCiL can help with all aspects of self-directed support (SDS), including:

  • preparing for an assessment
  • providing independent information on all the SDS options available to people in receipt of care/support
  • helping to organise and manage your support according to the choices individuals disabled people make – e.g.
  1. to use a particular service provider;
  2. to use an agency;
  3. to recruit and employ Personal Assistants (incl. help with recruitment, contracting, managing all aspects of payroll, managing Direct Payments (DP) finances);
  4. to purchase equipment.

Read more About Us here.

Scroll to top