Agenda item

Adult Social Care Strategy "The Lives We Live" 2024 - 2029

Decision:

RESOLVED

KEY DECISION

That the Executive:

a) Approved the Adult Social Care Strategy 2024 – 2029 for public consultation as set out in Option 2 of this report

b) Noted the co-production approaches used to develop the draft strategy.

Reasons for Recommendations:

· Activity delivered by public bodies should be underpinned by a clear strategy that gives the mandate for the way services should be provided and commissioned.

· This draft strategy is an important step following, the creation of the Council through Local Government Reform (LGR), in setting out how the Council intends to meet its statutory duties for adult social care.

· Co-production has played an important role in developing the current draft of the strategy, gathering the views of frontline staff, strategic partners and people that use services and their carers.

Alternative Options Considered

· Option 1 (not recommended): Continue “as-is” without renewing the legacy strategy developed by Northamptonshire County Council. This is not recommended as caselaw, expectations and provider markets evolve and change over time. Reviewing and renewing strategies is an important part of ensuring that council services and provision remain relevant and support our residents to lead the best lives possible.

· Option 2 (recommended): Develop the draft strategy using engagement and co-production approaches and consult on the draft strategy and present to the Executive for approval to consult on the draft strategy. This is the recommended option and is based on best practice approaches, utilising co-production as part of the development of the draft strategy.

Minutes:

The Chair invited Cllr Lyn Buckingham to address the Executive. Cllr Buckingham spoke to welcome the report, noting that the driving forces behind social care and recent increases in placement numbers need to be looked at carefully. Cllr Buckingham noted that the social care market was dominated by providers that viewed Council area as potentially lucrative, but with better inter-departmental work within the Council there was the potential to get the desired outcomes for social care.

The Chair thanked Cllr Buckingham for her contribution before inviting the Executive Member for Adults, Health and Wellbeing to introduce a report that sought approval to go out to public consultation on the draft Adult Social Care Strategy 2024-29.

In response to Cllr Buckingham’s comments, Cllr Mercer noted that there was a vibrant social care market in North Northamptonshire with daily monitoring regarding placements. In addition, work was ongoing between various stakeholders and Council departments to contribute towards the evolving adult social care system.

Cllr Mercer stated that the strategy had been co-produced with adult social care staff and partner organisations and set a five-year direction of travel for the people of North Northamptonshire. Attention was drawn to the underlying vision of the strategy that would enable people to live their best lives, with reference made to the aims, visions and desired outcomes arising from new ways of working. It was anticipated that the strategy would assist with increased demand and offer a streamlined service to prevent multiple hand-offs for those travelling through the system by putting the person at the centre of the system. It was heard that there would be a single route of access, with those not requiring adult social care referred to community facilities for support.

The meeting noted that the outcomes framework was based on the recent national Adult Social Care Outcome Framework, with an aim to provide quality social care services through contracting, clear accountability and regulatory compliance with value for money and continuous improvement embedded.

Cllr Mercer reported that one of the key forums for developing the strategy had been the North Northamptonshire Place Board as part of the Integrated Care System (ICS). In addition, the strategy had been presented to the Health & Wellbeing Board, the Active Communities Executive Advisory Panel, the ICS Urgent Care Board and the Northamptonshire Safeguarding Board as well as internal directorates. It was noted that the Local Area Partnerships and place development was an integral part of strategy implementation, as was the preventative offer of the voluntary sector in assisting in reducing demand.

Cllr Mercer made reference to the current complex service offer detailed in Appendix D of the report, with the new strategy designed to streamline this and prevent multiple handoffs during the journey of individuals through the system.

Cllr David Brackenbury spoke to welcome the ambitious strategy before members, with specific reference made to maintenance of social connections within the objectives, with the importance of maintaining these for individuals for as long as possible being noted.