Message from the Cabinet Member for Adults' Services and the Director of Adults and Health

Welcome to the 13^th annual Local Account of our adult social care performance setting out our achievements, challenges and areas for improvement. Whilst there have been numerous developments and changes over the years, our commitment to support people to live as independently and safely as possible and enable them to exercise choice and control over their care and support has never wavered; nor has our intention to embed a culture of co-production across the service. Not so positive, however, is the disconnect between mounting demand and inadequate funding which has remained a constant for local authorities over the years.

In October, the Autumn Budget 2024 statement was delivered by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which announced £600m in additional adult social care investment for councils in 2025-26. Whilst we cautiously welcome this extra investment, budgetary pressures have not been eliminated. Local authorities will need to manage the financial impact of additional provider costs due to the increase in Employers’ National Insurance payments and the National Living Wage and it will continue to be extremely difficult to balance our already stretched budgets.  Uncertainty remains about how the funding will be allocated and, with the recently announced independent commission, how the government proposes to tackle the national social care challenges in the longer term.

Alongside our Improvement Programme work and day-to-day ‘business as usual’, we have been preparing for the CQC Assurance process.  Developing and collating the evidence has demanded a substantial amount of additional work across the service and we would like to express our sincere thanks to the many staff who have been involved for their concerted efforts in ensuring we met the September 2024 deadline for submission and for engaging fully in the process. We are now preparing for the CQC on-site visit in February.  

Whilst our challenges are many, we recognise the importance of celebrating our achievements and to do just that, we held a second annual staff conference in April 2024.  We focussed on the concept of ‘one workforce’ and the essential role each individual plays in our improvement journey. Events such as this illustrate the variety of skills needed to create and maintain a dynamic and resourceful workforce.

The way our staff perform in sometimes difficult situations, their compassion for people needing care, and their support for their colleagues, is truly inspirational and as always, we finish with our very grateful thanks to them.