Recognising institutional control

The guidelines identify institutional features such as imposed routines, obligatory sharing of assistants and limited influence over who provides support. The European Network on Independent Living (ENIL) explains in its October 2023 guide that moving people into smaller group settings can preserve those restrictions. It also clarifies the document’s status: this is authoritative guidance on implementing the disability convention, without creating a new set of treaty rights. [1]

Assistance available when someone leaves

Paragraph 27 says people should be connected to personal assistance before leaving an institution, with support available immediately on departure. The person should choose how much of the service to manage, including whether to employ assistants or engage providers. Needing help to make decisions should not exclude someone. The guidelines also separate housing from compulsory acceptance of particular treatment or support services. [1]

A budget that supports everyday choice

ENIL’s personal-assistance guidance describes the funding needed to make that control practical. Allocations should reflect individual needs and local salary rates, covering employer contributions, administration and peer support as well as assistants’ wages. It argues that disabled people should be able to recruit, train and manage assistants, with support if they choose. Control can also be exercised through supported decision-making. For a transition plan, this means considering who will organise assistance and how that work is funded alongside the hours of direct support. [4]

Following implementation through lived experience

ENIL’s Independent Living Survey 2024, published in 2025, examined personal assistance alongside housing, transport, education and other conditions for participation. Disabled respondents and organisations within the independent living movement scored their experiences. None of the surveyed countries reached the report’s overall category for a fully guaranteed right. ENIL describes the exercise as a record of perceptions, not a representative statistical study. Those limits matter when reading comparisons between countries. The survey still offers a practical way to examine a transition: access to an assistant needs to work together with an accessible home, usable transport and opportunities in the community. [5]