Disabled People’s Right to Control (Pilot Scheme) (England) Regulations 2010

My Lords, I thank everyone who has spoken in this debate for their unanimous supportive approach. We are looking at a watershed moment—despite the level of consensus in this Committee, or maybe even because of it—in the way that right to control will enable disabled adults to have a real say in how services are provided and choose how to purchase those services. As the noble Baroness, Lady Campbell—who will, I think, be watching—said, these pilots need to be implemented well. While I could not possibly comment on her claim that she is a control freak, I know she raised the issue that some people who may not be quite as enthusiastic about taking total control will still be part of the pilot. Full support for them will be built into the pilot and will be a vital aspect of it. I will now deal in no particular order with the questions that were raised. The noble Baroness, Lady Thomas, asked about the number of assessments required. We are working with all the local authorities involved to support them in undertaking just a single assessment, and have a field support team working with the different local authorities to share the approach. The noble Baroness asked why the regulations do not refer to accessible formats for the provision of information. These do not need to be specified in the regulations because there is a general duty under the Equality Act. The noble Baroness asked how community care will work. It is aligned with right to control. These regulations work alongside the legislative framework for community care. Indeed, the data-sharing regulations extend to community care. The noble Baroness asked about the support provided to user-led organisations during the pilots. Trailblazers work with the local organisations that supply the support and advocacy. The representatives are members of local project boards, and the Government will provide support to trailblazers, which can include support for user-led organisations. The noble Baroness raised the issue of general support. The concept of right to control involves assembling the money that is already there and making it accessible in a right-to-control way. For the purpose of the pilots, we are putting resources in because there is clearly extra cost for the communities. From memory, the figure that we are adding to that package is £7.5 million, which will be a mixture of cash and practical support. On the question of whether third-party organisations will be able to view personal data, these regulations do not extend to the sharing of data with the partner organisations, because they are not defined as relevant authorities. In cases where it is necessary to do so, the disabled person or their representative will need to give their consent to the data being shared. I think that I can now move on to the series of penetrating questions asked by the noble Lord, Lord McKenzie. His first ones concerned whether people receiving adult community care would have the full right to control. The answer is an unequivocal yes. I am afraid that I shall have to clarify in writing the noble Lord’s question about adaptations. I was not aware of that particular wrinkle about not being able to recycle, and it would be nice to lose that anomaly if possible. With regard to the relationship with Work Choice, customers eligible for that programme in a trailblazer area will automatically be eligible for the right to control. The Independent Living Fund will remain one of the funding streams for the right to control, and clearly we will work with the trailblazers and the Independent Living Fund to look at the impact for the future. I do not think that I am in a position today to be more explicit than we have been about the rest of the spending review in that regard. We are looking at the matter in the context of the spending review, and clearly we are working with the trustees of the fund, disabled people’s organisations and other key stakeholders, including local authorities. I can commit to a full consultation with disabled people’s organisations, the key stakeholders and local authorities before any decisions are made. I think that the only issue that I have not dealt with is the basis on which the pilot areas are chosen. I believe that the noble Lord who asked that question knows the exact answer, which I have to admit I do not. I shall write to him on what he thought was the best way of choosing the areas, although I suspect that that is not entirely necessary. In the nick of time, perhaps I can modify that answer, thanks to the extraordinary writing skills of the team behind me. We issued a prospectus setting out the aims of the trailblazers and invited bids. The selection panel considered the bids, and choices were made ensuring that the right to control could be tested in rural, urban, unitary and metropolitan authorities, so there was a good mix. As the noble Lord will know, we lost one of the pilot areas but we are pursuing it with the other seven. With those questions all dealt with, I conclude by saying that these regulations are a necessary step in enabling the legislation to deliver the right to control and therefore in empowering disabled adults to have greater choice and control over their own lives. I commend the regulations to the Committee. Motion agreed.