Councils meet 30 per cent target for personal budgets

A third of all people eligible for social care support are now receiving a personal budget, with half of those received by people over the age of 65, according to an ADASS survey of 153 councils in England.

More than 338,000 people are now managing their own support: double the number of people from this time last year. The total amount of money allocated in personal budgets overall has now passed the £1.5bn mark, representing almost £1 in every £7 spent by councils directly on care and support services.

Of the 132 councils that responded to the ADASS survey, the majority (83) are now delivering personal budgets to a third or more of eligible people, and 27 of these councils give personal budgets to over half of their eligible people.

The rate of increase in personal budget delivery was much faster in the second half of 2010/11, showing that the move to personal budgets is picking up speed.

Nearly all of the increase has been in 'managed' personal budgets, with no significant increase in direct payment numbers in the last year.

The survey also found that a significant minority of councils (at least 19) are delivering personal budgets to less than a fifth of potentially eligible users.

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