A 43-year-old woman born with spina bifida has become the 1000th recipient of Kent County Council's Direct Payments Scheme.

Life has been tough lately for Claire Somerville, from Tunbridge Wells, who has had both legs amputated.

She prizes her independence and up until 18 months ago, was frequently out and about town. Since then, she has been housebound with different people coming into her home for 24 hours a week to provide her with support.

But from now on, things have changed and Claire is in charge. The Direct Payments Scheme allows people who need help from KCC adult services to take charge of the money that would be spent on providing support for them.

As long as every penny goes on meeting their specified needs, they can choose exactly how they want to spend it.

So instead of receiving help from the council’s adult services department, Claire now has a KCC cheque in the bank every month enabling her to employ the people she wants to provide the support she wants and needs.

Instead of having her daily schedule dictated by other people, she will choose when she gets up, when she goes to bed, when she has a bath and the many other things most people take for granted.

Claire said: "I like to be independent. Most young couples are in charge of their own lives, not having a constant stream of people coming in and out or having to ask someone else to make arrangements for support on their behalf. Now I’ve chosen a support agency and I tell them what I need.

"Ultimately, I hope to be totally independent again and no longer need support, but for now, it’s so much better – it’s given me control."

Kirstine Mitchell is also excited about the scheme. She has been Claire’s care manager for a year and this is the first time she has seen one of her clients transfer to the scheme.

"I believe in the principle but this is the first time I have seen it working," she said. "I can give her the phone numbers now and say 'here you are – you know what you want.' Claire is the expert on herself. She doesn’t need me to pick up the phone for her.

"It is absolutely right that where possible, people are given the power to take responsibility for themselves and their support."

KCC cabinet member for adult services Kevin Lynes visited Claire at her home to celebrate with her.

He said: "Direct Payments give people back control over their own lives. People don’t want to get up, go to bed, eat, have a bath and even go to the loo to fit in with someone else’s daily workload, no matter how much they understand why it’s necessary or how kind and supportive that person is.

"Claire has given me an insight into what being in charge of the funding for her own support means for her."

One of KCC’s targets in Towards 2010, its vision for the next four years, is to encourage more people take control of their care through the Direct Payments Scheme.

Click here to read Kent County Council's vision for 2010 in full, in PDF format