Individuals will be responsible for commissioning their own care services and managing their own care budgets, according to plans revealed by the government.
Control for providing social care services will be increasingly removed from local authorities and placed at the door of those receiving the care.
The government's blueprint for adult social care services titled, A Vision for Adult Social Care: Capable Communities and Active Citizens will be outlined in a White Paper on care and support at the end of 2011.
The details form another part of its Big Society agenda and sets a challenge for councils to provide a personal budget, preferably as a direct payment, for everyone who is eligible by April 2013.
Launching the new path, Paul Burstow, the care services minister, explained how it was expected to work and the need for people to balance the risks involved.
"As councils devolve commissioning responsibility to individuals via personal budgets, we expect them to work with providers to broaden the market of care services, particularly small social enterprises, so that individuals can exercise real choice over care services," he said.
"A consequence of personalisation is that people will increasingly take their own decisions about how to balance their new freedoms with a sensible approach to risk. The vision also calls for an increase in preventative activity in local communities, to keep people independent for longer and contribute to building the Big Society.
"It encourages people to look to themselves and their communities, not just the state, for solutions and in doing so to grow the Big Society. It alerts councils to their new leadership role in health improvement and health and well being boards and the opportunities this offers," he added.
The government also highlighted that councils should use the £2bn social care funding announced in the spending review as a springboard to reform services.
However, concerns have been raised about whether this money will be sufficient to meet the shortfall from council funding cuts.
Charity Age UK has significant concerns about the scheme but welcomed the personalisation of care budgets in allowing greater choice to those older people able to manage their own care.
"The heavy emphasis in the report on moving people onto receiving direct cash payments to pay for care concerns us as many older people have said that they don't necessarily want to have to become employers of their carers or to have to shop around for provision," said Michelle Mitchell, charity director of Age UK.
'Many older people begin to need care following a major health crisis such as a stroke and then need to be on a managed care pathway towards reablement. Only after their needs have stabilised would it be appropriate for a personal budget to be considered, but even then their needs must be kept under constant review.
"Appropriate levels of support must also be provided to help older people to make decisions and manage their care effectively," she added.
The full statement is available from the Department of Health.
