HOW residents in Torbay are cared for in their own home is undergoing a radical change.

And the new woman in charge of bringing about that reform is excited at the cultural transformation already under way in adult and children's services in the Bay.

Carol Tozer, Torbay Council's new People Commissioner, is a firm believer in the new ethos that people — rather than professionals — are given more power to decide on the kind of services they want.

And more than 300 people in the resort are already helping to introduce a new direct-payment system which sees clients not only deciding what services they want and who provides them, but also paying directly for them.

Mrs Tozer, who was born and went to school in Torquay, lectured in statistics and economics in Hong Kong and worked in Canada before returning to work in what used to be called social services.

She said: "I believe public services are there to positively improve the quality of life of our most vulnerable residents.

"What gets me out of bed in the morning is thinking about the people we serve.

"I benefited from the welfare state system as a working class girl and, for me, it's personal as well as professional.

"I think my job as People Commissioner is nationally unique and I am very excited about it."

Coming back to Torbay, she said the council had put in place things which she believed would give it a good grounding to be at the forefront of the transformation taking place nationally, especially as its star rating is due to be reviewed later this month. Adult social services last year achieved its first two-star rating since 2002. The improvement came two years after the formation of Torbay Care Trust, which took over the running of adult social services and community health from Torbay Council and works with Torbay Council.

"I think Torbay has done some good things which will gives us a grounding for the future. These days it's not about giving people a service, it's about helping them to get a life."

Under the new system, 314 people are getting help from a multi-disciplinary team. Mrs Tozer said: "It's about bringing those services closer together and looking at people's whole needs and meeting all those needs. I am thrilled that there are 314 people in Torbay receiving direct payments. And this is the way the Government is going."

Once clients are assessed, rather than slotting into the services provided by health or social care — such as help getting up, dressing, feeding, day care or nursing care, or help with shopping — they are given the cash sum and buy the services they want, but with the necessary backup and support if they wish.

"Most of us will vote with our feet if something is too expensive or not of the quality required," said Mrs Tozer.

"Some elderly people won't want the hassle of being responsible as someone's employer, but you could have a funded-community group or social enterprise set up which would help clients do the recruitment. Other clients will be happy to have the responsibility themselves.

"Across public services there is a quiet revolution taking place. I think it is hugely exciting. It's the biggest thing impacting on adult social care for our most-vulnerable citizens."

She said creating the People Commissioner role would enable the council to put individual and the community's welfare at the heart of everything it does.

"It is seeking to break down professional boundaries, and look at how services can combine," she said.

"One example is Torbay is one of a dozen local authorities which won £500,000 from the Home Office for a family intervention project.

"It is recognising that in order to deal with youth offending you need to look at the needs of the whole family. It is a really exciting project under the banner of community safety."

There are also four cluster teams in children's services, one each in Paignton and Brixham and two in Torquay.

"These are providing family support in order to avoid such outcomes as children becoming at risk of significant harm and having to be looked after, and raising levels of attainment," said Mrs Tozer.

"We have got to ensure that when families are identified through community safety, for example, because of youth offending, they have one point of contact and a single high-quality response from this council to support them as a family."

Mrs Tozer's role is wide ranging, taking in education, children's services, housing, community safety, and including car parking, trading standards, cemeteries and CCTV.

The final stage of the process is to review how the new system is working.

"Things go wrong, it happens," she said. "But we need to learn from what goes wrong. We need to ensure we also learn from the best."