Agenda item

To consider a report of the Director of Adult Services.

In December 2021 the Government published a white paper, People at the Heart of Care, that outlined a 10-year vision that puts personalised care and support at the heart of adult social care. 1Following the publication of the White Paper, the Department of Health and Social Care announced the Market Sustainability and Fair Cost of Care Fund for the primary purpose of supporting Local Authorities to prepare their markets for the impact of charging reform. 

The Cost of Care Report (Annex B) details the outcome of the exercises undertaken with the Care Home (age 65+) market and the Domiciliary Care (age 18+) market, collating, and producing a median average of the costs incurred by those providers submitting in delivering care.

The Market Sustainability Plan (Annex C) describes the Council’s assessment of the current sustainability of local care markets, the assessment of the impact of future market changes and the Council’s plans for these markets to address the sustainability issues identified, including how fair cost of care funding will be used to address these issues over the next 1 to 3 years.

The Scrutiny Committee is recommended to comment on and note the report.

Officer contact: Jon Wilkie on 07970 318461 or by email on jon.wilkie@stockport.gov.uk

The Director of Adult Services submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) which provided the Stockport Fair Cost of Care report and Market Sustainability plan. In December 2021 the Government published a white paper, People at the Heart of Care, that outlined a 10-year vision that puts personalised care and support at the heart of adult social care. Following the publication of the White Paper, the Department of Health and Social Care announced the Market Sustainability and Fair Cost of Care Fund for the primary purpose of supporting Local Authorities to prepare their markets for the impact of charging reform.

The Cost of Care Report (Annex B) details the outcome of the exercises undertaken with the Care Home (age 65+) market and the Domiciliary Care (age 18+) market, collating, and producing a median average of the costs incurred by those providers submitting in delivering care.

The Market Sustainability Plan (Annex C) provided the Council’s assessment of the current sustainability of local care markets, the assessment of the impact of future market changes and the Council’s plans for these markets to address the sustainability issues identified, including how fair cost of care funding would be used to address these issues over the next 1 to 3 years.

The Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care (Councillor Keith Holloway) attended the meeting to respond to questions from the Scrutiny Committee.

The following comments were made/issues raised:-

·         In relation to the inflationary uplift prices, it was queried when calculations had been made.

·         In response, it was stated that the source data was based on 2021/22 information submitted by providers which was used as the basis for the fee setting process in terms of providing inflationary uplift for 2022/23, recognising the challenges in terms of consumer price inflation (CPI). The 2022/23 data was then used as the basis for the fee setting exercise and cost of care analysis for 2023/24 using the current rate CPI of approximately 10%.

·         It was requested that an item relating to recruitment and retention across primary social care be programmed into the Scrutiny Committee’s work programme for the 2022/23 municipal year.

·         It was queried how information around health outcomes was shared with other services within the council to inform decisions around economic development and planning.

·         In response, Members were informed that the joint strategic needs assessment includes the regular updating of data which informs partnership plans. In some areas there were specialist housing frameworks used to inform planning decisions that feed into local plans. Whilst Stockport was not yet at that point, there had been work to development a joint project that would consider the required planning environment, needs assessment across health, housing and social care, opportunities in existing developments, and funding models and business cases. In addition, the funding awarded for the housing strategy seeks to connect the wider part of adult social care, health outcomes and tackling inequalities with the environment that everyone lives in.

·         In relation to the availability of care home beds, it was queried whether safeguards were in place to ensure that capacity could be managed should NHS England or the Government seek to transfer beds from hospitals to care homes.  

·         In response, it was stated that Directors of Adult Social Care and health colleagues were working carefully and closely at a local level to determine how to increase capacity if required. A number of beds had been purchased to support discharge to assess beds, commissioned by the local authority and NHS. In relation to the current funding that had been allocated, at a Greater Manchester level it had been agreed that Directors of Adult Social Care would co-ordinate the bed requirement on behalf of their locality. In addition, the council was exploring additional reablement capacity.

RESOLVED – (1) That the report be noted.

(2) Requested that an item relating to recruitment and retention across primary social care be programmed into the Scrutiny Committee’s work programme for the 2022/23 municipal year.