Market intelligenceMarket intelligenceLatest findings from the Demos Personal Budget project

The background – a step change

By March 2011, all local authorities are required to have at least

30% of publicly funded adult social care users using personal

budgets.

Around one-third of local authorities are aiming to have all

publicly funded care users using personal budgets by March 2011.

An unprecedented shift in how care users plan and purchase their

care – significant implications for commissioners and providers

Existing evidence – what do we know about the impact of personal budgets on local markets?

InControl, Phases I&II

Ibsen pilot site study

Local studies (e.g. Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire)

Interesting early insights – personal budgets might generate:

A move from residential care into own tenancies

A commensurate increase in home help and personal assistants

Increased demand for leisure and education

A large proportion keeping their existing package, including sustained demand for day centres

BUT – small sample sizes, using the “vanguard” and focus on learning disabilities mean limited wider application

At Your Service, the Demos Personal Budgets Market Intelligence project

6 participating local authorities returning data on a combined sample of 428 care users:

We ask:

About the types of services people receive now, how happy they are with them and what is important to them

What council funded users might spend a personal budget on and what they would change about their current care packages

What current PB/DP holders were spending their budgets on and how they had changed their packages

The sample

Who pays for support?

What’s important to achieve in life?

Top answers across all care users

Keeping healthy and well (76 per cent)Good quality of life (37 per cent)Personal dignity and respect (57 per cent)Choice and control (47 per cent)

What did people want to change about their lives? - Areas of difference

Older person Physical impairment

Learning disability

Enough money 13% 22% 47%

Make a contribution 7% 13% 37%

Being treated fairly 7% 9% 35%

What did people want to change about their lives?

Top answers across all care users

physical health (43 per cent)opportunities for holidays (37 per cent)more control over life (29 per cent)money (28 per cent)

What did people want to change about their lives? - Areas of difference

Older person Physical impairment

Learning disability

Home I live in 9% 18% 26%

Paid work 4% 20% 23%

Volunteering 3% 11% 31%

Evening activity 17% 21% 32%

Relationships with friends

6% 14% 27%

What support would people need to make these changes?

More information about things they can do (46 per cent)Having someone to talk to for advice (45 per cent)Less bureaucracy (40 per cent)

Those with learning disabilities were more likely to select better transport and help from peers to plan support

All options were selected by at least 20% of the sample

What do people know about personal budgets?

Would people change about their care package if they had a personal budget?

What services would people want if they had a personal budget?

Top answers across all care users

Personal Assistants (48 per cent)Home helpers (41 per cent)Holidays (36 per cent)Day centres (34 per cent)Leisure services(34 per cent)

What services would people want if they had a personal budget? - Areas of difference

Older person Physical impairment

Learning disability

Holidays 15% 37% 56%

Public transport 22% 27% 44%

PAs 57% 45% 31%

Leisure 30% 25% 53%

What help would people need if they had a personal budget?

help to know what to spend it on (57 per cent)extra help managing it (44 per cent)extra help knowing the cost of options (47 per cent) help to spend it appropriately (36 per cent).

Many people ticked multiple options. Older people most commonly responded that help was required.

Personal budget holders – did they change their care packages?

A disparity?

Personal budget-holder spending patterns – implications for the market

the use of day care centres fellthe use of residential homes remained the sameparticipation in education and training increasedthe use of leisure services increased substantiallythe use of public transport increased the number of holidays increased substantiallythe employment of personal assistants increased substantiallythe use of family members and friends fell

Market impacts of working age adults

Working age adults are moving out of residential services and maintaining their own tenancies

This is in part driving a large growth in the demand for personal assistants.

Working age adults want to participate in leisure services. The most common are health and fitness training.

There was a sustained increase in the use of services which help people develop personal and professional skills, for example accessing employment, training programmes and debt management

A small but growing number of working age adults want to use small parts of their personal budgets on things unrelated to social care.

There is some indication that the longer people have a personal budget, the more radical they will become in considering ways of spending their budget money.

Market impacts of older people

Older people will change the services they use more slowly. They spend more on mainstream services than working age adults, and less

on leisure services, education and training. Older people want more personal support services. Older people want to

remain in their homes with support around the house. This suggests a large growth in the demand for personal assistants.

Older people want to spend more on leisure services and transport . The demand for leisure services was still evident for older people, even though it was less pronounced than in other groups.

Older people want more weekday and day-care centres. A large number of older people would not change anything. There is a

danger of focussing too much on the changes that people will make. Older people are the most likely to need help managing personal budgets

What does this mean for providers and commissioners?

Maintaining care packages for some clients whilst providing new services for others – a dual role

Changing not just what but how things are done Offering a more diverse and flexible range of services –

implications for staff skill set Dealing with a more fragmented client base• Joint working with other (non-care?) providers to deliver a

broader range of services• Ensuring universal services are accessible for care users• Niche for new management/brokerage services

5 more authorities joining the project National dataset biggest of its kind Watch out for updates

Claudia.wood@demos.co.uk