Presenter: Mr Zhuang Kuansong, Independent Researcher
Time: 4pm to 5:30pm
Venue: Evans Room, Ventus (University Campus Infrastructure), National University of Singapore
8 Kent Ridge Drive, Singapore 119246

Abstract:
The social model of disability first originated in the UK in the 1980s. Since the 1990s, successive UK governments have put in place policy measures to realise the aspirations of disabled people and the social model, of which personalisation has been a key cornerstone. In the UK, personalisation is a policy to give choice and control to service users over the shape of the support in care settings. Personal budgets arise out of this and is a sum of money allocated to disabled people after an assessment of their needs. Personal budgets, in theory, aim to allow people to take control of their own lives and have more choices in the use and purchase of services. Towards the end of my Chevening year in the UK, I had the opportunity to conduct a study for Inclusion North, a not for profit organisation working across the North of England supporting people with intellectual disabilities, and their families and carers. In this study, I looked at the UK policy of personalisation and the manifestation of it in the form of personal budgets. Over the course of two months, I interviewed over 40 disabled people and their carers across the North of England who shared candidly about their experiences of personal budgets. Arising from this study, I will share my insights on the UK context of disability, as well as the implementation of personalisation and personal budgets. I will then discuss the possible lessons that we can take from this UK experience.

Presenter’s profile:
KUANSONG, ZHUANG is an independent researcher on disability in Singapore. He first graduated with a BA and MA in History from the National University of Singapore, where his research traced the evolution of disability discourse in Singapore, and its impact on the lives and identities of disabled people in Singapore. He subsequently went on to do a second Masters in Disability Studies at the University of Leeds funded by the prestigious Chevening Scholarship from the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Kuansong’s research interests focus on disability studies in Singapore, ranging from disability identity to policy. He aspires to do a PhD in Disability Studies in the near future.

REGISTRATION IS CLOSED

Registration closes on Wednesday, 3 May 2017.
Seats are on a first-come, first-served basis. All are welcome.
For enquiries, please contact Ms Jess Tan