Health Management and Policy Alert

Five point plan for county and unitary councils: point three

County Councils Network -
This briefing calls for a delay to the reforms in adult social care which are due to be introduced in 2023. It warns that the system is under so much pressure care services could be worsened if they are introduced too soon.

• Briefing
• County Councils Network - news

Putting community and cooperation into care and support: community of practice for community businesses and co-operatives

Think Local Act Personal -
This report details learnings from phase one of the Community of Practice which has concentrated on sharing the ambition, opportunities, risks and barriers to developing community businesses and co-operatives. It highlights how community businesses and co-operatives have the potential to make a significant contribution to supporting people to live well at home, as well as contributing to realising the ambitions in the social care White Paper that people can access high-quality support over which they can exercise choice and control.

• Report
• Think Local Act Personal - publications

New horizons: what can England learn from the professionalisation of care workers in other countries?

Nuffield Trust -
This report finds that perceptions of care work as low skilled continue to persist, despite the pandemic highlighting just how vital care workers are. In recent years there has been increased debate around the ‘professionalisation’ of this staff group, which generally refers to the creation of a statutory register of staff and their professional regulation. This report reviews what the evidence shows about the professionalisation of care workers in other countries.

• Report
• Nuffield Trust - publications

Adult social care workforce in England

House of Commons Library - 

This research briefing gives an overview of key issues and policy concerning the adult social care workforce in England. Around 1.5 million people worked in the adult social care sector in England in 2021/22, more than in the NHS. The workforce was more diverse than the population as a whole and the majority of workers were women. Around a quarter of the workforce were on zero-hours contracts, including 55 per cent of home care workers.

• Briefing
• More detail

Building capacity and capability for improvement in adult social care

The King's Fund -
In this discussion paper, we look at how local authorities in England improve the quality of adult social care. In the paper, we don’t make recommendations. Instead, we ask some questions, intended for the adult social care sector, about what the future should look like.

• Discussion paper
• The King's Fund - publications

Life changing care: the role, gaps and solutions in providing social care to people experiencing homelessness

St Mungo’s  - 

This report examines the provision of care services for people who have been homeless and finds they are missing out on the care they need and deserve because of a lack of specialist provision. People who have experienced homelessness often have multiple and complex health conditions, which can result in their care needs being much higher and more prevalent at an earlier age, than the general population. The report makes eight recommendations about how to improve the current situation.

• Report
• More detail

Agency fees for social care: key findings

Care England - 

This survey of independent providers shows the extent to which the Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated the reliance on agency staff, reaching a point of unsustainability for the sector. It ran between 16 May and 1 June 2022 and received 95 responses from a diverse range of services providers representing circa 70,000 registered beds.

• Survey results
• Press release

Adult social care provider partnerships in integrated care systems

Care Provider Alliance (CPA) -

This guide for adult social care providers concerns the opportunities integrated care systems (ICSs) provide for partnership working between health and social care. ICSs are partnerships between health and care organisations, coming together to collectively plan and deliver health and care to meet the needs of their population. This guide has been developed with input and support from NHS England and is designed to help adult social care providers understand ICS and, at the same time, help ICSs to have a better understanding of the value of the full participation and engagement from adult social care providers.

• Guide 
• CPA guidance and briefings

Distribution of funding to support the reform of the adult social care charging system in 2023 to 2024

Department of Health and Social Care - 

The government is introducing a new adult social care charging framework from October 2023. This consultation seeks views on proposals for distributing funding to support the first year of delivery of adult social care charging reform in 2023 to 2024. There are proposals for: distributing funding for needs and financial assessments; the extension to the means test; and the cap on care costs. The consultation closes at 11:45pm on 23 September 2022.

• Read the paper
• More detail

Long-term funding of adult social care

Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee -
This report examines the Government’s charging reforms and local government finance, unpaid carers and workforce challenges. It says the Government urgently needs to come forward with additional funding this year to help the adult social care sector meet immediate pressures, including inflation and unmet care needs.

• Report
• Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee - press release