Home care services do not give disabled people enough control over their lives.
Home care services provided by some parts of the independent sector are not reliable enough.
Many councils have difficulties finding skilled workers to support disabled people.
People still have to wait too long for special equipment and for adaptations to their home though waiting times are getting shorter nationally.
Identity and belonging
Generally speaking, councils are not doing enough to make sure that services meet the needs of people from different ethnic groups.
Often disabled parents do not get the right kind of support to help them to be good parents in the way they want to be.
Too many people with brain injury do not receive the right kind of local support and are in homes that cannot meet their needs.
Many carers not given enough support to carry out their care responsibilities and also do other things such as work and leisure activities.
Active citizens
There is scope for improving day services.
People value advocacy services but only one third of councils provide them.
Many councils do a lot to help people get jobs. But this works best when other council departments, not just Social Services, get together to work with other agencies.
The way councils work
Many more people could benefit from direct payments.
Assessment should focus more on what people need. People should be more actively involved in shaping the particular services they require.
Getting good information about what services are available is still a big problem for lots of people.
Most councils say they are using the social model of disability but they should involve local people in checking that this is actually happening.
Councils are trying to improve the way disabled children transfer to services for adults when they are 18. But many families still complain that this is a very difficult time.
The best councils actively involve disabled people in planning, developing and evaluating services.
skip navigation 
Independence Matters - summary of main points
