Personalisation

Personalised public services sit well with the Big Society principles.

It places an individual's values and needs at the heart of their own support services and, by involving their carers, families, friends, neighbours, enables them to participate fully in their local community.

Reality check

Universal access to advice, information and preventative services are fundamental to personalisation. However, in the current financial climate, preventative services are being severely cut and eligibility criteria tightened, constraining choice and the capacity of the voluntary and community sector to offer flexible and responsive needs-led services - A widening gap between the aspirations of personalisation, and the reality on the ground.

The rise of uncertainty

The challenge of managing the transition to personalisation presents a threat to many local voluntary organisations. The removal of block contracts and grant funding opens up issues of uncertainty of demand and requires organisations to address issues such as pricing based on unit costs, marketing their services to personal budget holders, managing changes to their HR processes, financial and IT systems, and training staff and volunteers.

It is vital that local voluntary organisations are supported through the transition from grants and block contracts to personal budgets, to avoid losing many of the community-based services that support choice.