Health Management and Policy Alert

Technology and digital: embracing technology to revolutionise services and power up productivity

County Councils Network - 

This report profiles how county and unitary councils are using latest technology and digital advances to improve local services. It shows how those councils are breaking new ground by deploying AI within their services, such as using the ‘world’s first’ pothole preventing robot, alongside examples such as saving staff time by transcribing calls and providing AI-generated recipes for residents.

• Report
• Press release

White paper: reducing pension opt-out rates in the care sector

Care England - 

This paper (produced together with Caunce O’Hara Insurance Brokers Ltd (COHIBL)) addresses the critical issue of high pension opt-out rates within the UK care sector, where more than 1.5 million employees provide essential services to vulnerable populations. Despite the success of auto-enrolment in increasing pension participation across various sectors, the care sector exhibits a higher rate of opt-outs. This trend poses significant risks to the long-term financial security of care workers, many of whom already face challenges related to low wages, job insecurity, and a lack of financial literacy. The paper sets out clear recommendations for reducing pension opt-outs.

• Paper
• Press release

Social care 360

The King's Fund - 

Explore the key trends in adult social care in England — including the money spent on social care, access to services and the makeup of the workforce — in The King's Fund's latest 360-degree review.

• Long read

Local government financial sustainability

National Audit Office - 
This report says that local government finances are becoming unsustainable, due to increasing demand on essential frontline services, the impact of delayed finance reform and the erosion of investment in preventative programmes. It also finds that it can be increasingly hard for people to access public services, as demand outstrips resources.

• Report
• National Audit Office - press release

Care workforce and their work-related quality of life: findings on work related quality of life and wellbeing – wave 1

Department of Health and Social Care -
The adult social care workforce survey was designed to collect information on a range of workforce conditions and how they affect work-related quality of life. The insights from the survey aim to support policy development to deliver the government’s ambitions to support the adult social care workforce. These include implementing the first fair pay agreement for adult social care, enhancing skills and building towards a national care service.

• Report
• Department of Health and Social Care - publications

State of caring: the impact of caring on carers’ mental health and the need for support from social care services

Carers UK - 

Carers UK carried out an online survey with unpaid carers between June and August 2024. This report summarises their responses. As not all respondents completed every question in the survey, some figures are based on responses from less than 12,500 people. An increasing number of people looking after a disabled, older or ill relatives are experiencing poor mental health because they cannot take a break from caring. More than half (57%) of people say they feel overwhelmed ‘often’ or ‘always’. Over a third (35%) say they have ‘bad’ or ‘very bad’ mental health, compared to 27% in the previous year’s survey.

• Report
• Press release

Identifying and supporting unpaid carers in England to improve integrated system working

Carers UK -
The purpose of this resource is to support health and care systems in England to improve the inclusion, support, and involvement of unpaid carers. It brings together statutory duties and best practice resources developed by the Carers Partnership (2022–2025), to help health and care professionals reduce the health inequalities carers face, better identify unpaid carers, and drive transformative change.

• Resource
• Carers UK - publications

Restructuring social care services: the importance of risk management systems in care homes

Care England -
This is the final report in a series exploring the root causes of care home failures and offers proactive strategies to ensure long-term sustainability. It offers practical tools, such as the Risk Matrix, Risk Management Framework, and Business Continuity Plan, to help care homes identify, assess, and mitigate risks effectively.

• Report
• Care England - publications

The workforce employed by adult social services departments in England

Skills for Care - 

This report provides the estimated number of social workers employed by local authorities in England, and information about recruitment and retention, demographics and pay rates. The findings are from the Adult Social Care Workforce Dataset (ASC-WDS) relating to social workers in local authority adult social service departments as at September 2024. The report does not include social workers employed in the independent sector or those working in the NHS. 

• Report
• More detail

People powered care: leveraging employee ownership as a succession option to retain capacity in the adult social care sector

Care England - 

Rising pressures have seen the care sector predict nearly three in ten providers will exit the market. This report outlines the benefits of employee ownership as a business model that could retain capacity, reduce recruitment and retention issues, and improve care quality in the sector. A key case study in the report is Shaw Healthcare, who are the largest employee-owned health and care business in the UK. Employing over 3,300 staff, they have highlighted how the transition to employee ownership worked for them and saw them improve care quality and achieve business growth too.

• Report
• More detail