Forty years in social care
About Andy
I’ve spent more than 40 years working to change what social care can make possible.
My starting point has always been simple: people are citizens first.
I’ve accumulated more than four decades of experiences, conversations, ideas, mistakes, successes and questions. Some of them are worth sharing – Here I tell my story.
Curiosity, not conclusions
Still asking the right questions
What does a good life look like? What happens when we put the person before the service? What does genuine choice and control actually mean? Can we shift power from systems towards people? What does good help look like? And what would social care look like if we started with citizenship, relationships and community, rather than assessments, services and eligibility?
I don’t claim to have all the answers. But after more than 40 years, I still have plenty of questions.
My career journey
I started out in special education, learning quickly that the problem was rarely the child and almost always the way systems were set up. That early work drew me into community integrated care, supported living and community development — places where people were trying to build lives, not just services.
Since 1992 I have worked with person-centred planning and person-centred thinking, influenced by international pioneers in self-directed support, supported living, recovery and individualised practice. My focus has been on how ideas about citizenship, choice and control can translate into what happens in people’s everyday lives.
Over time that took me into independent support brokerage, self-directed support, Direct Payments and social enterprise. I have worked alongside disabled people, families, community organisations and local authorities to design and deliver support that starts with the person and their community, rather than with services and buildings.
Key contributions
Much of my work has been about building practical alternatives — new roles, organisations and ways of working that give people more say over their lives and support.
- Co-founded Keepwell, a survivor-led social enterprise focused on peer support, wellbeing and people’s own definitions of recovery.
- Co-founded and chaired the National Brokerage Network from 2005, helping to build a shared voice and standards for independent support brokerage across the UK.
- Worked as an independent support broker, trainer and consultant, walking alongside people using self-directed support and Direct Payments to create lives that made sense to them.
- Served on the board of People First (Merseyside), a self-advocacy organisation led by people with learning difficulties.
- Chaired the Merseyside Joint Training Partnership, bringing people together across organisations to improve practice and challenge assumptions.
- Worked with the National Development Team for Inclusion (NDTi) on projects focused on community-based support, inclusion and citizenship.
- Took part in international study and practice at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, learning from leaders in self-directed support and bringing those ideas back into UK practice.
- Spent more than 14 years at KDC North West in senior operational and strategic roles, including periods as Acting and Interim Chief Executive, supporting the development of person-centred, community-focused approaches across the organisation and region.
What I believe
These ideas have guided my work, the projects I’ve helped to build and the conversations I still want to have.
- People are citizens first. Support should begin with people’s rights, gifts and hopes — not their diagnosis, label or deficit.
- Good support should strengthen people’s lives rather than create dependence. If support is working, people have more confidence, more connection and more real options.
- Choice and control have to mean more than choosing between services. Real choice means being able to shape your life, your support and how decisions are made, including who is involved.
- Relationships and community matter as much as formal support. Friends, family, neighbours, peers and local places are as important as paid help — sometimes more so.
- The person comes first. Systems, policies and professional roles should follow the person’s life, not the other way round.
Now
I am now retired from formal employment, but I don’t feel finished. I’m starting a new chapter: reflecting on what I’ve learned, writing, and asking questions that are sometimes easier to raise from outside a formal leadership role. I am also experiencing social care alongside someone I love, which keeps challenging and deepening what I think I know.
This blog
This is my place to keep exploring questions about social care, citizenship, community, Direct Payments, self-directed support and what good help might look like. I’m not offering a model or a programme — just reflections, stories and questions that I hope are useful to other people who care about these things.
Andy Gilbert 