Right to Control FAQ's

The Right to Control will be a major step toward achieving disability equality by 2025.

About the Right to Control

A message from the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions about Right to Control

Secretary of State's letter (PDF, 1 page, 25 KB)
Secretary of State's letter (Easy Read) (PDF, 1 page, 25 KB)

What is the Right to Control?

The Right to Control is about shifting the balance of power from the state to the individual and recognising that disabled people are the experts in their own lives.

Why is the Right needed?

At the moment, many disabled people do not have the sort of choice and control over their lives that non-disabled people take for granted. The Government is therefore committed to providing greater choice and control over the support they receive from the State.

How will the Right be introduced?

From 2010, we will test how the Right to Control will work. We will do this by trying out the Right to Control for disabled adults in a number of local authority areas in England. These will be called trailblazer sites.

More information on the trailblazers and what they will mean for local delivery agencies is contained in our guide for local agencies:

Right to Control: a guide for local agencies (PDF, 14 pages, 120KB)

How does the Right fit with the Welfare Reform Bill?

The Welfare Reform Bill currently before Parliament enables the Secretary of State to make regulations to give disabled people greater choice and control over support provided by the state. The Right to Control is part 2 of the Bill.

The Bill has completed its passage through the House of Commons. There was strong support across the House, with members on both sides warmly welcoming the increased choice and control this policy will deliver. As of June 2009, the Bill is before the House of Lords.

The Hansard page on the Welfare Reform Bill can be found on the Parliament website and includes the full text of the Bill, explanatory notes and reports from the debates.

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