Charlotte Pearson

Money talks? Competing discourses in the implementation of direct payments

The Community Care (Direct Payments) Act 1996 enables local authorities to make cash payments to service users with physical and sensory impairments and learning difficulties under the age of 65. This gives users control over money spent on meeting their community care needs, rather than receiving services arranged for them by the local authority. The policy is often represented as a victory for the disability movement and as a push towards user empowerment and social justice. However, direct payments also need to be understood as part of a wider market discourse prominent in the restructuring of welfare. Therefore, a growing culture of localized care markets with increasing ideological diversity may ultimately erode its scope for a meaningful level of user empowerment. By examining these market and social justice discourses, this article draws on analysis of two local authority approaches to direct payments and examines the level of meanings of control.

Parallel lives: Younger stroke survivors and their partners coping with crisis

This paper presents the data derived from 38 younger stroke survivors (aged 20-49) and their partners, focusing on the ways in which a traumatic event such as stroke impacts differently on the person involved and their partner, and how this may affect their subsequent relationship. Post-stroke recovery is a long-term proposition; 12-15 months post-discharge from hospital, some participants spoke of altered roles, additional responsibility, changed relationships, and communication problems. However, few couples had been offered any form of counselling or psychological support. There appears to be a need for family support and counselling if these families are to survive relatively unscathed.

Keeping the cash under control: What's the problem with direct payments in Scotland?

Implementation of the 1996 Community Care (Direct Payments) Act from April 1997 has gradually gained momentum as more and more local authorities have begun to embrace the idea, and develop their own direct payment policies and support structures. However, whilst users have overwhelmingly welcomed this transition, there remains a stark divide between the implementation and promotion of policy in different parts of the UK. This has resulted in only marginal use of direct payments for a small number of disabled persons in Scotland. As legislation moves to widen access to direct payments in Scotland, this article draws on a series of interviews with policy makers in two local authorities and examines some of the key problems that, to date, have prevented many authorities from offering direct payments as a mainstream service option for disabled people.Implementation of the 1996 Community Care (Direct Payments) Act from April 1997 has gradually gained momentum as more and more local authorities have begun to embrace the idea, and develop their own direct payment policies and support structures. However, whilst users have overwhelmingly welcomed this transition, there remains a stark divide between the implementation and promotion of policy in different parts of the UK. This has resulted in only marginal use of direct payments for a small number of disabled persons in Scotland. As legislation moves to widen access to direct payments in Scotland, this article draws on a series of interviews with policy makers in two local authorities and examines some of the key problems that, to date, have prevented many authorities from offering direct payments as a mainstream service option for disabled people.

Cultures of welfare at the front line: implementing direct payments for disabled people in the UK

Direct payments are central to UK independent living and welfare modernisation agendas, however, little is known about the local cultures of welfare within which they are implemented. This article uses eight case studies of devolved governance within local authorities and trusts to explore the dynamics of implementation cultures at the front line. While national and local policies are clearly important, so too are political cultures, commissioning practices and interrelationships between key stakeholders. While local authorities have enjoyed considerable discretion and autonomy in this area, the article concludes that greater harmonisation may be required in the interests of social justice.

Disability activism in the new media ecology: campaigning strategies in the digital era

This article examines the changing nature of disability activism through the influence of social media. As disabled people in the United Kingdom have been subjected to acute austerity, this has coincided with a new era of disability activism channelled through increased social media participation. Drawing on the analysis of one group’s online activities and a qualitative content analysis of disability protest coverage in traditional news media during the 2012 Paralympic Games, this article positions this shift in the broader framework of ‘new media ecology’. We explore how emerging structures of disability activism have begun to offer a more visible profile to challenge government policy and negative stereotypes of disabled people. This highlights the usefulness of campaigning strategies for generating favourable news coverage for disability protest.

Don’t get involved: an examination of how public sector organisations in England are involving disabled people in the Disability Equality Duty

The Disability Equality Duty (DED) came into force in December 2006. It stipulated that all public sector organisations were to develop policies to promote the equality of disabled people as staff members, consumers or visitors. Its emergence comes as part of a network of social policies developed over the last 20 years to promote disability rights and citizenship in the UK. However unlike previous legislation, the DED set in place the need for organisations to be proactive in their policies and work with disabled people to move towards change in public sector cultures and working practices. This article reports on this early stage of implementation in England. Findings show that whilst some progress has been made in securing change, practice varied greatly. Therefore if a fundamental change in the culture of work and service provision is to be secured, this key requirement will need to be given a higher priority by organisations.

Mainstreaming the Disability Equality Duty and the Impact on Public Authorities' Working Practices

Implemented as part of the 2005 amendments to the Disability Equality Act, the Disability Equality Duty (DED) placed new and important demands on public sector bodies. All such organisations are required to develop policies and working practices which actively promote the equality of disabled people as employees, consumers or visitors. The promotion of equality has to be proactive as opposed to reactive and must be mainstreamed into the normal day to day activities of organisational working practices. Whilst the DED follows on from the framework of previous anti-discrimination legislation set in place over the last fifteen years, it represents a significant change in equality legislation, demands that public sector bodies instigate fundamental changes in their approach towards disability. This article reports on the initial stages of the implementation process of the DED across a range of public sector organisations in England, focussing in particular on how this policy has impacted on mainstreaming. Discussion shows that although organisations show awareness of mainstreaming and its implications for disability equality, there is limited evidence to suggest that the public sector has fully embraced this agenda.