Personalisation has become the policy buzz-word of the twenty-first century. Supporters claim it offers service users choice and services attuned to meet their specific needs, moving away from 'one size fits all' state services. In this short form book, part of the Critical and Radical Debates in Social Work series, Peter Beresford, one of Britain's foremost social work academics, challenges the personalisation agenda and its consequences on service users. Although critical of 'one size fits all' services that deny service user voice, Beresford argues that personalisation turns service users into 'consumers' of services within a care market and hence reinforces the commodification of care which sees vast profits made by a small number of providers at the expense of good quality services for those who use them.
Series Editors' Introduction;
Personalisation: from solution to problem? ~ Lead essay by Peter Beresford;
Personalisation, participation and policy construction: a critique of influences and understandings ~ response by Sarah Carr;
Up close and personal in Glasgow: the harmful carer, service user and workforce consequences of personalisation ~ response by Jim Main;
Personalisation - plus ca change? ~ response by Alan Roulstone;
The need for true person-centred support ~ response by Pat Stack;
All in the name of personalisation ~ response by Helga Pile;
Personalisation - is there an alternative? ~ response by Roddy Slorach;
Personal budgets: the two-legged stool that doesn't stand up ~ response by Colin Slasberg;
Once more on personalisation ~ Concluding remarks by Peter Beresford;
References.
