​Landmark law promises more choice for people who require care.

People who require care in Scotland now have more control over how money is spent on them after a landmark law came into force this week.

The Self-directed Support (SDS) Act means the 100,000 people in Scotland who are assessed for care every year can choose between employing their own support workers or continuing to allow their local council to arrange support for them.

Those wishing to arrange their own support will receive a direct payment to allow them to pay for the care they choose.

I'm not saying this is the silver bullet that’s going to overcome all barriers, but it’s a step in the right direction

The act was launched on Tuesday by public health minister Michael Matheson at Lothian Care Centre for Inclusive Living (LCIL), which has been supporting disabled people across Lothian for 20 years, and helps people to access SDS options.

Florence Garabedian, chief executive of LCIL said it had been a long time coming.

“For over 50 years disabled people and their organisations, like LCIL, have argued that in order to live more independent lives disabled people need to have control over what support they can choose from and how they receive it.

“If resourced and implemented in the spirit of the act SDS is an important means to address some of the barriers that disabled people and people with long term conditions, of all ages, face on a daily basis.”

LCIl service user Suselle Boffey already has access to self-directed support. She described its nationwide roll-out as an important milestone in recognising the rights of disabled people as equal citizens.

Boffey said: “I'm not saying this is the silver bullet that’s going to overcome all barriers, but it’s a step in the right direction.

“My life now embodies the disability mantra: choice and control. I can choose when to wash my hair, when to go shopping, whether or not to go to the cinema or theatre or visit friends. I can go on holiday. These are activities which most non-disabled people take for granted.”

Individuals unsure of whether SDS is for them can choose to have the council hold the funds until they decide how it is spent.

They can also choose to have some support provided by the council and some chosen by themselves.