Dumfries and Galloway Council embarks on personalisation pilot

Mar 19 2010 by Craig Robertson, Dumfries Standard Friday

SOCIAL work chiefs are set to embark on a £1.2million pilot scheme which could radically change the way services are delivered.

The cash will be spent on developing “personalisation” which means people will be able to shape how services are delivered to them.

The council was given the money to spend over three years by the Scottish Government in 2008 but is only now just getting round to seeking approval from councillors.

Personalisation of social work services have proved to be a controversial subject this year after a council proposal to close several Activity and Resource Centres for adults with learning difficulties and replace them with personalised services.

But the savings idea was binned after there were protests from service users.

SNP councillor Robert Higgins said: “We saw what happened with the ARCs: there are sensitivities around this.

“Hopefully this will be a lot softer.”

The new spending, which was rubber-stamped by a resources committee on Tuesday, will see two new posts created.

One, a £97,000-a-year neighbourhood link worker will be tasked with making disability services “more personal, local and accountable, to support local people with disabilities and their families in their local communities,” according to a report which went before the meeting.

The other, a £49,000-a-year access officer will be given the job of giving people with disabilities better access to mainstream services such as sport, leisure, arts and culture.

The report states they will “raise awareness among frontline staff of the issues faced by people with disabilities, including mental health problems, in using such services”.

Council mental health manager Penny Nowell told the committee that the £1.2 million pilot scheme would be assessed for its success and that personalisation of social work services could make budgets go further and provide better value for money.