Agenda item

Adult Social Care Action Plan

To consider a report setting out the approach that North Tyneside Council and its partners are taking in response to the Covid-19 pandemic in respect of adult social care and a proposed approach to securing greater market stability within a longer term program of work to consider service redesign and market reshaping as a result of the experience of Covid-19 and the changing nature of demand for adult social care services.

Minutes:

Cabinet received a report setting out the approach that the Authority and its partners were taking in response to the Covid-19 pandemic in respect of adult social care and a proposed approach to securing greater market stability within a longer term programme of work to consider service redesign and market reshaping as a result of the experience of Covid-19 and the changing nature of demand for adult social care services.

 

Covid-19 had imposed significant and additional demands on the care market. Local care providers, the Local Authority and NHS services had been working together since the start of the pandemic to understand and respond to these challenges.

Within North Tyneside Council, the total adult social care budget for 2020/21 was £62.9 million.  Of this, £30.5 million was used to commission services from the adult social care provider market. This was determined by a joint strategic assessment with North Tyneside Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).

 

Services were commissioned from 92 providers (both commercial and not-for-profit) to deliver services to 3,455 people, and collectively, the adult social care provider market was one of the largest employers in North Tyneside, employing around 3,140 people. 

 

Beyond the current context with Covid-19, the adult social care market faced the same challenges as those seen nationally i.e. increasing intensity and complexity of need; rising staffing costs due to the National Living Wage; and care staff recruitment and retention.

 

The Care Act 2014 gave local authorities, the NHS and the CQC clear legal responsibilities for managing different elements of the adult social care market as detailed in the report.

 

In North Tyneside the Authority’s key objectives with the market since 19 March were set out in the Authority’s overall Covid-19 response plan, which aimed to slow the spread of infection by flattening the curve and protecting the vulnerable, protect staff, and support the Borough by delivering essential services and working in partnership with business and the community and voluntary sector.

 

As part of the Government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, some temporary relaxations had been made to the duties on local authorities under the Care Act (from 31 March 2020), making it possible for local authorities to reduce some of their usual duties.  However, these relaxations did not apply to any Care Act duties for market oversight. The Department of Health and Social Care’s Action Plan, 16 April 2020, set out their approach which was made up of 4 pillars: i) controlling the spread of infection; ii) supporting the workforce; iii) supporting independence, supporting people at the end of their lives and responding to individual needs; and iv) supporting providers of care and support.

 

An assessment of the current situation and how Covid-19 had impacted on Adult Social Care in North Tyneside was set out in the report. This was set out against each of the pillars in this plan.

 

On 14 May 2020, the Minister for Care had required all local authorities with adult social care responsibilities to work with system partners to agree a return consisting of:

 

           A letter setting out an overview of current activity and a forward plan

           Completion of a short template confirming the current level of access to the support offer

           Confirmation that the Local Authority was carrying out a daily review of the local care market, including care homes

 

This information had been submitted to the Minister for Care on 29 May 2020 and had subsequently been published on the North Tyneside Council website.  This gave the detail on the North Tyneside position on each of the four pillars. 

 

The report detailed the impact of Covid-19 on Adult Social Care in North Tyneside in relation to the current position, key progress to date, and next steps for controlling the spread of infection in care settings; supporting the workforce; supporting independence; supporting providers of care and support.

 

In terms of the future commercial framework, notwithstanding the work done to date, a longer- term approach and framework needed to be established in order to secure and sustain an appropriate social care offer to meet the needs of residents. The negotiating remit within the Framework would encompass the following elements: Strategic Objectives, Negotiating Context, and Value for Money.

 

Cabinet considered the following decision options:

 

Option 1:  Note the current position, work done to date, progress and next steps and agree approach to outlined in establishing the Commercial Framework.

 

Option 2: Note the current position, work done to date, progress and next steps and not agreeing the approach to outlined in establishing the Commercial Framework.

 

Resolved that (1) the work done to date to support the adult social care market be noted;

(2) the approach to securing longer term market stability be agreed;

(3) the Chief Executive, Head of Health, Education, Care and Safeguarding, Head of

Resources and Head of Commissioning and Asset Management, in conjunction with the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources, be authorised to work towards a sustainable and affordable solution to an appropriate social care offer to meet the needs of residents; and

(4) Cabinet receives a further report on progress and considers any future contractual proposals.

 

(Reason for decision: it provides a detailed update on the response work done in Adult Social Care and establishes a structured approach to a set of commercial arrangements with all social care providers.)

Supporting documents: