So says Simon Duffy, philosopher and social innovator, and one of the chief creators of self-directed support (SDS) in the UK - a system set up to give more than a million people more choice and control over their own social care support ...

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Simon Duffy and Free to Live volunteer Rob

In this model, people eligible for social care will know how much money they can spend on social care, and will have the support and freedom to make their own decisions about where and how they live. After years of campaigning by Simon and many others in the disabled people’s movement, the government has put these ideas at the centre of its social care strategy.

On a chilly morning in December, Rob Moriarty and Alison Greenhalgh-Cross, of Free to Live, and Leonie Gregson from Leeds Adult Social Care, travelled down to Sheffield to meet Simon and talk about his work, the importance of peer support, and the potential SDS has to change people's lives...

Read the full interview here (requires Adobe Reader)

A bit more about Simon

Simon Duffy led the charity In Control from 2003 to 2009, whose mission was to transform the adult social care system in England. He was awarded the Albert Medal from the Royal Society of Arts in 2008 for his contribution to positive change in contemporary society. Past recipients include Winston Churchill, Stephen Hawking, Tim Berners-Lee and Marie Curie.

He has recently set up the Centre for Welfare Reform to help redesign the current welfare system so that it will better support citizenship and strengthen family and community life.

You can read more about Simon and his work on his website.