By Geoff Adams-Spink BBC News website disability affairs correspondent

Anne McGuire thinks individual budgets are the way forward

The new minister for disabled people, Anne McGuire, has told the BBC she hopes to pilot a new way of providing care for disabled people this year.

Mrs McGuire said individual budgets - a way of bringing together the various allowances and benefits for disabled people - were "a great step forward".

The idea was first proposed by the prime minister's Strategy Unit in a report earlier this year.

But she said that the new service had to "deliver for disabled people".

Mrs McGuire gave the BBC News website one of her first interviews since her appointment following last month's general election.

While individual budgets were widely welcomed by disability campaigners, she said that setting up the new system needed "careful planning".

"We want to make sure that we get it tried and tested," she said.

Report

"The worst thing we could do is to come up with an initiative that actually leaves disabled people in a slightly worse position than might otherwise be the case."

A cross-departmental report on individual budgets is due to be sent to the Prime Minister next month, according to the minister.

The idea was one of a number of recommendations contained in a 20 year plan to reduce the inequalities between disabled and non-disabled people which was published by Number 10's Strategy Unit earlier this year.

Mrs McGuire said that making a start on implementing the recommendations contained in the report - called Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People - was one of her principal medium-term goals.

And she said that Mr Blair was taking a "very strong personal interest" in turning the proposals into reality.

The various types of support currently available to disabled people are often delivered by a mixture of central and local government using a variety of agencies.

People frequently complain about the number of assessments that are required to claim individual benefits and allowances.

Strands

Creating a simpler system and reducing the number of assessments is likely to be well received by disabled people and campaigning organisations.

"It's going to be quite complicated, in some circumstances, drawing together the different strands of support and resources," said Mrs McGuire.

She thinks that the recent passage of legislation to improve the rights of disabled people, together with the Strategy Unit report, should lead to lasting improvements in the civil rights of disabled people.

"We can change the legislative framework, but the big achievement will be to change society's view of disabled people."

"I think that's our challenge in government, and I'll look forward to contributing to that."