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Building on a people’s movement for change…

Extension of the legal rights to personal health budgets

The “right to have” a personal health budget has been extended to include people eligible for Section 117 after-care in mental health, and people in receipt of NHS wheelchairs (who have the right to a personal wheelchair budget).

People eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare and children and young people’s Continuing Care have had a legal right to a personal health budget since 1st October 2014. Following a public consultation, the legal rights have now been extended to include these two new groups of people.

New Guidance on the legal rights to have personal health budgets and personal wheelchair budgets.

The NHS Long Term Plan states that “we will accelerate the roll out of Personal Health Budgets to give people greater choice and control over how care is planned and delivered. Up to 200,000 people will benefit from a Personal Health Budget by 2023/24.

The legal right to have a personal health budget is intended to support Clinical Commissioning Groups to deliver on this aim, enabling people experiencing some of the most significant long-term health conditions to exercise greater choice and control, and to enhance independent living in the community.

By extending the legal right and by providing guidance documents, the aim is to increase the numbers of personal health budget holders. NHS England recognise that many people included in these new rights will have had limited opportunities to exercise choice and control over their health and wellbeing prior to this right.

December 2019