This paper responds to four commentaries on our original paper in this issue. We respond to issues raised under three headings addressing the scale of the task envisaged in the 2001 White Paper "Valuing People," the feasibility and effectiveness of individual planning and how to achieve person-centred action. We conclude that there is substantial…

"Valuing People," the English national strategy launched in 2001 is founded on the twin principles of self-determination and social inclusion. It promotes a vision of people with intellectual disabilities in the mainstream of life. To achieve this goal, it seeks to integrate a wide variety of elements, in which person-centred planning (PCP) is…

Policy appears to regard person-centred planning (PCP) as underpinning strategic planning. While accepting the logic of its role in planning for individuals, this commentary argues that PCP cannot fulfil a strategic planning role because the development of PCP on a wide enough scale to be useful for this purpose is itself a strategic development,…

Mansell & Beadle-Brown (2004) raise a number of concerns about the possible impact of the systematic introduction of person-centred planning (PCP) across services for people with intellectual disabilities in the UK. We too foresee a danger that system-wide adoption of PCP will be characterised over zealous "selling" of the purported…