It is estimated that about six million adults in the UK live with some kind of additional support and that an overlapping six million provide them with ‘informal care’ – looking after those close to you. All the indications are that in the future, first in western societies and then globally, more and more people will need support to live. However, it has long been recognised that the social care system, especially in western societies, often does not provide the kind of care and support that people want. Using social care services frequently results in the service taking over the person’s life, rather than the person feeling supported by the service. People using or wanting to use services frequently feel constrained, patronised, controlled or abandoned. There is widespread agreement that care and support services must change radically if they are to meet the rights and needs of the rapidly growing number of people who require them. To make that change and address the contradictions at the heart of social care, we must address the broader issues creating these inequities and provide people with the support they need, individually matched to enable them to live the fullest life they can and have the best quality of life possible. Building on the national ‘Standards We Expect’ research project, this book explores these ideas in the form of ‘person-centred support’ – what that means, what the barriers are and how they can be overcome.