Jargon buster

Commissioning

The process by which local authorities decide how to spend their money to get the best possible services for local people.

Connecting health and social care

This project involves social care and health working together to make processes more efficient for the customer.

Continuing Healthcare (CHC)

This is a different service to social care. Social care refers to help, such as getting out of bed, getting dressed, help with meals and other events involved with daily living and is paid for by the NHS.

NHS continuing healthcare is used to describe care given to anyone who does not need acute hospital care but nevertheless has primary health needs. It can be provided by the independent sector and/or the NHS in a care home or your own home.

Direct payments

These are monthly payments given to service users as the means of controlling their own care - allowing more choice and flexibility. They enable people to purchase their own care rather than use council services.

Individual budgets

Individual budgets (IBs) give a clear allocation of cash to an individual to control the way money is spent to meet his or her care needs. IBs can bring together a variety of income streams from different agencies as well as social care. People can use individual budgets to 'buy' services from public, private and voluntary sectors.

Intermediate care

Intermediate care provides intensive, short-term (usually no longer than six weeks) support to prevent unnecessary hospital admissions, or help people discharged from hospital regain their levels of independence at home.

Local Area Agreement

This is an agreement that sets out the priorities for a local area in certain policy fields as agreed between central government, the local authority and Local Strategic Partnership (LSP). The agreement is made up of outcomes, indicators and targets aimed at delivering a better quality of life for people through improving performance on a range of national and local priorities.

Outcomes

The end results or impact something has on a service user's life eg. Improved quality of life

Personal budget

This is an individual budget made up solely of social care funding.

Person Centred planning (PCP)

A process designed to assist someone to make plans for their future. People are able to formally list their preferences as part of a plan so that no matter where they go people can understand what is important to them. It is used most often as a life planning model to enable individuals with disabilities to increase their personal independence.

Personalisation

The process by which state provided services can be adapted to suit service users. This means everyone having choice and control over the shape of their support along with a greater emphasis on prevention and early intervention.

POPPS (Partnerships for Older People Project)

A Government-led programme, where local authorities work with older people to develop innovative schemes to help them remain independent, healthy and active in their communities for as long as they wish.

Putting People First

The Government's shared vision and commitment to the transformation of adult social care

Re-ablement

A service provided to help people re-build the independence skills that they need to continue to live in their own home.

Resource Allocation Systems (RAS)

Self directed support initiatives involve the cash value of individual budgets being derived from an agreed resource allocation system which links an individual's needs to a consistently applied way to determining a cash or budget value.

Self-Directed Support

This is the name given to the change in the way the whole social care system operates to give service users the choice, control and power over the support they receive. It will replace the current care management process over the next three years.