Accountability and governance in social care: the impact of personalisation
Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management
ISSN: 1176-6093
Article publication date: 10 June 2014
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of the paper is to illustrate the changing structure of accountability under a new public governance agenda introduced in England to deliver social care through personal budgets.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws on accountability and public governance literature, in particular, the accountability framework proposed by Hupe and Hill. The evidence was gathered from exploratory case studies conducted in two English County Councils.
Findings
The introduction of personal budgets has modified the roles of the different actors involved in the co-production of social services. The case studies evidence changes in the accountability and governance process, particularly with respect to the personal budget regime that has devolved responsibility and accountability to the customer. Specifically, the customer's role has shifted and expanded in the accountability chain and thus developed into a partnership.
Originality/value
This study is one of the first to analyse the relationship between the personalisation agenda in English social services and the relevant accountability mechanisms involved. Moreover, the paper refines the theoretical framework proposed by Hupe and Hill according to the different role the public now plays.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The author wishes to thank the two guest editors and the anonymous referees for their continuous support and useful comments on the previous versions of the paper. Earlier versions of the paper were presented during the XVI IRSPM Conference held in Rome in 2012, and during a seminar held at the Queens' School of Management in Belfast in 2013, and benefited from comments by Pam Stapleton, Noel Hyndman, Mariannunziata Liguori, Giuseppe Grossi. A special thanks to Sue Llewellyn for her invaluable support during the initial phases of developing the research. The research was partially funded by the “Iniziative di Internazionalizzazione di Ateneo – Start-up 2009” of the University of Ferrara.
Citation
Bracci, E. (2014), "Accountability and governance in social care: the impact of personalisation", Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, Vol. 11 No. 2, pp. 111-128. https://doi.org/10.1108/QRAM-04-2014-0033
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2014, Emerald Group Publishing Limited