SCIE Report 36: Enabling risk, ensuring safety: Self-directed support and personal budgets

Introduction

'Risk enablement is now an important self-directed support process in most local authorities' (Tyson, Brewis, Crosby et al, 2010)

Assessing risk

Safeguarding

Traditionally, continuing risk assessment and risk management has been seen as an essential part of safeguarding adults.

The assessment of risk has often raised difficult questions of balance in professional practice. The rights of adults to live independent lives and to take the risks they choose to take needs to be weighed carefully against the likelihood of significant harm arising from the situation in question.

In current guidance on assessing the seriousness of the risk of abuse, relevant issues include:

Key resources to support self-directed support and planning

Click on the links below to learn more about three key resources in this area:

Mental Capacity Act 2005

It is recommended that all support for decision making in relation to self-directed support be in line with statutory principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. You can use the link on this page to read more about the core principles, but in summary we can say:

If someone has full mental capacity and is able to make their own decisions, then it is essential that they maintain control and that professionals support their decision-making at every stage (Mental Capacity Act 2005).

Further reading

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  • SCIE Report 36: Enabling risk, ensuring safety: Self-directed support and personal budgets