Independent living is the right of Disabled people to live in the community with the same choices, control, and freedom as other residents.
This applies equally to people of all ages who face barriers due to long-term health conditions. Independent living is a council-wide commitment beyond just 'social care' and it does not mean Disabled people doing everything for themselves.
Having an adequate income and access to personal assistance if needed are key pillars of Independent Living. Since 2015, H&F has been the only council in England to provide free home care to Disabled and older residents. People who need support to live independently should get what they need, rather than what they can afford.
Recommendations from our groundbreaking resident-led Disabled People's Commission report, "Nothing About Disabled People without Disabled People", have driven considerable progress.
However, Disabled and older residents continue to face societal barriers that affect their quality of life. That's why H&F has adopted the Social Model of Disability, developed by Disabled people, recognising that our focus must be on tackling discrimination and removing barriers to inclusion.
We have focused our home care support around enabling residents to live independently, and ensuring they have choice and control over their lives. H&F offers ‘reablement’ support, which is rated ‘outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
However, Disabled and older residents continue to face societal barriers that affect their quality of life. That's why H&F has adopted the Social Model of Disability, developed by Disabled people, recognising that our focus must be on tackling discrimination and removing barriers to inclusion.
We have a strong track record of co-producing our strategies and services with residents, such as:
- the Dementia Action Alliance in co-producing our Dementia Strategy
- older and Disabled residents in developing housing plans that meet their needs
- and residents co-producing improvements in Direct Payment support so people can develop their own individualised support.
Our ambition
Our ambition is for Disabled people of all ages to have the same rights as everyone else to live in the community how they choose, with the same control and freedom as any other resident.
Independent living is about all the things that are important in our lives – real choice in where you live and who you live with, access to a job, transport, healthcare, decent housing – as well as personal support if it's needed.
Short terms goals
In the short term, we will:
- continue to provide free homecare for older and Disabled residents
- continue to deliver on all our statutory responsibilities, such as the those set out in the Care Act, in partnership with our Safeguarding Adults Board
- work with our Independent Living Delivery Group, led by Disabled residents, to implement our Independent Living vision across the council
- continue to ensure that safeguarding of all people is a collective responsibility that we fully embrace and act upon across the council
- continue to build capacity and a culture of co-production in our strategic decision making, to inform how we redesign our Independent Living services, working in partnership with Disabled people's organisations and resident-led groups
- make Independent Living the priority focus of our roles in Adult Social Care
- continue to deliver localised training for staff to further embed the value of co-production, including into our new carers and autism strategies.
Long terms goals
In the long term, we will:
- target increasing the uptake of direct payments by residents eligible for social care to enable more choice over how residents wish to be supported at home
- fully implement our Dementia Strategy to make the borough more dementia friendly
- co-produce improvements in the quality of home care, so that residents have carer-workers who are consistent, well trained, punctual, and knowledgeable
- work with informal carers and carer organisations to co-produce a new Carers Strategy and promote the inspiring care they give
- implement a strategy to make independent living a reality.