From 2008 onwards adults entitled to publicly funded social care services have been able to purchase their own support directly.  Of course people need help doing this, so the new role of 'support broker' has been developed. Most support brokers initially gained experience by working in the NHS or for care  providers, but we knew a lot of people had gained equivalent experience from using services. In the autumn of 2011 we ran our first Peer Broker course for people who had used services or provided informal care for a friend or family member. We have now run the course three times.