THE WAY Solva pensioners pay for the care and support they receive in the community could change for the better, thanks to a £14,401 Welsh Government grant.

Solva Care, a community based social care charity, is delighted to be one of the organisations chosen to participate in the second phase of Innovate to Save; Welsh Government's £5M research and development fund to help support public and third sector organisations to deliver services in Wales differently.

Led by Solva Care's project manager Lesley Robertson-Steel, the Pembrokeshire project will investigate how direct payments can be organised in a way to provide people with greater choice, more personally-appropriate care and support to maintain and improve their wellbeing.

Direct payments are local health and social care trust payments for people who have been assessed as needing help from social services, and who would like to arrange and pay for their own care and support services, instead of receiving them directly from the local trust.

The project will also investigate how Solva Care can support the creation of a care cooperative to achieve this aim.

Solva Care will work closely on the project with project partners Hywel Dda University Health Board, Pembrokeshire County Council, Rural Health and Care Wales, and Pembrokeshire Association of Voluntary Services (PAVS).

"We are very excited to have been selected for this prestigious project," said Solva Care's chair Mollie Roach. "We look forward to working with our partners to find new ways of empowering older people in Pembrokeshire to take positive action to secure their health and wellbeing".

Solva Care will use the grant to fund a research and development phase to test its idea.

If it has the potential to improve public services and generate savings, it can then apply for loan finance to implement project.

Innovate to Save is supported by Y Lab (a partnership of Nesta – the global innovation foundation – and Cardiff University) and the Wales Council for Voluntary Action.

Pembrokeshire County Council's Cabinet Member for Social Services Tessa Hodgson said:

"We are delighted to be able to partner Solva Care on this ground-breaking project. The potential opportunities for the wellbeing of the people of Pembrokeshire – given the constraints on the finances of local authorities – are really exciting and we look forward to working together."