Playing catch-up? Adult social care in Northern Ireland

Adult social care in Britain is undergoing a period of major change. This is largely based on the move towards 'self-directed support' for older people using social care services, which has changed how social care policies are developed and implemented. This refers to a range of approaches aimed at enabling people who use social care services to have a greater say in their social care plans to achieve more personalised support. It is inextricably linked with values of choice, control and user participation as opposed to service-led planning (Beresford, 2014; Glasby & Needham, 2014; Needham, 2011). How-ever, there has been a greater political commitment to achieve this for older people in England, Scotland and Wales compared to Northern Ireland, where similar debates are largely absent. © 2018 Alexandra Chapman, published by Sciendo.