I hope you are keeping well and enjoying the fabulous weather. 

We have just come through a really difficult financial year, and you have done incredibly well to steady the ship reducing our costs so we can achieve financial sustainability. With the arrival of Donna Manson we are now much clearer on the overall Council vision and our core priorities for the coming year.

We have a significant and on-going financial challenge, we have the CQC Assurance of the ASC Care Act duties on the horizon, and we need to ensure ongoing service recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s so important that everyone and every team is aware of these three priorities, and that through your work you can see a direct connection and contribution.

Whilst we are in a stronger position than a year ago, that work must continue and this is another big year for our directorate as we work to deliver £30.5m savings. Whilst there are plans in place this cannot be a guarantee that they will be delivered. Even though it is early in the year we are not seeing the necessary progress.  I am reaching out to you all as our most important asset; every decision you make will contribute to our success.  I strongly believe that this doesn’t mean we have to compromise good outcomes for people.

Across the summer I want to come and visit teams in the places you work, face to face to talk to you about this. I want to get your ideas about the things we should do, the things we should try, and the things we should stop. And how we can draw on our own learning, like the amazing way Devon adapted it’s approach to work during COVID-19; working together to collective goals and with pace.

We will be developing a Service Level Plan, setting out what we will be achieving and how. I want to make sure that everyone and every team is connected to this, can see how they are contributing and the impact of that. I shall be attending a number of staff forums over the coming months too, again, to get your thoughts and contributions and gather everyone around a collective and co-produced plan.

Please do lean into this work, and try to shape and influence it. I shall shortly be recording my June video message where I will say more on this.

Please also note the following vacancy is now live on Devon Jobs - 

Deputy Director Integrated Adult Social Care – Commissioning

For internal applicants only - for more details click here. Closing date is 7 June.

Best wishes,

Tandra Forster, Director of Integrated Adult Social Care, and

Keri Storey, Head of Integrated Adult Social Care Operations

Solveig Wright, Head of Integrated Adult Social Care Commissioning (Interim)

Gary Patch, Deputy Head of Integrated Adult Social Care Operations 

From the 1 April 2023, the Health and Care Act 2022 empowered the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to assess how well local authorities are delivering on their adult social care duties defined in part one of the Care Act 2014. Over the next two years the CQC plan to assess and publish ratings as to how all local authorities are delivering on those duties, followed by an ongoing cycle of review.

Councils across the country are preparing for the new CQC Assurance Framework, with many taking part in a Local Government Association (LGA) Peer Challenge to be ‘inspection ready’. Peer Challenges are enormously helpful in providing experience of an inspection process by independent and experienced colleagues from elsewhere in the country and demonstrate an open and accountable culture.

From the 19 to the 21 of July 2023, an LGA Peer Challenge will be taking place at Devon County Council, to assess how well the Council, working with its partners and providers, delivers on its duties relating to adult social care. We are asking stakeholders to fill in a short leadership survey. This is your opportunity to comment on different aspects of the leadership of adult social care in Devon.

We will be adding to a Peer Challenge website where we will continue to share information and in which you can find the full briefing. This will include material to brief colleagues who might be meeting peers or participating in a case audit. We will also publish the report and our response to it when we receive it in September.

On the weekend of the 10 and 11 June Exeter Respect Festival will taking place, for incredibly its 26^th anniversary. It’s talking place at Belmont Park and this year DCC is the event’s main sponsor. As the InsideDevon article says, this is a great opportunity for us to be explicit about the changes we’ve achieved regarding diversity and equality. And to show our individual and collective commitment.

We all know there are further improvements needed and things we can all do to make that happen, and attending events like this, or even volunteering could be the right thing for you to do. See the link to find out how you can get involved. Many thanks to all those across IASC who been involved and already planned to be there either to soak-up the fun or to volunteer on the day.

The Management Information Team are in the process of finalising the annual statutory returns for 2022-23.  This year we will be reporting on 18 out of 26 indicators in the Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework (ASCOF).  Our provisional data shows that we have:

• Improved in 10 indicators
• Declined (marginally) in 7 indicators
• No change in 1 indicator

Compared to 2021-22, we have a good and sustained set of results showing that our work to support people is positively received with satisfaction levels increasing once again in 2022-23.

The Carers’ Service (“Devon Carers”)

• Supported 26,917 carers, of whom 6070 were new to the service this year.
• Achieved quarter on quarter growth in users of webpages 
• Developing more significant community and employer support for carers signing up the first Carer Friendly Towns, and gaining increasing traction with employers 

• Assisted 2313 carers through facilitation of Peer Support
• Administered breaks for 1744 carers
• Answered 13,354 calls from carers, handled around 1,300 email contacts and 1,640 webchats.
• Provided training to 324 carers
• Issued 6070 Carer Passports
• Completed 3871 carer assessments/reviews, of which 2714 were new assessments.

Coastal Community Health and Social Care Team have shared this great case study where they were able to work creatively to meet the needs of two people.

They matched up a person with a PA who was going on holiday and a couple who needed respite but then risked losing their care package, read the case study below. 

Our Adult Social Care Involvement Team were highlighted for best practice in co-production in House of Lords Report - A “gloriously ordinary life’’: spotlight on adult social care. 

Our Management Information teams use of Power BI and data insights, along with our annual report has also been highlighted as good practice in a DHSC report  'A roadmap for better data' in social care. 

A reminder that as from 1 April this year, the Preparing for Adulthood team has changed and is now called the Transitions Adult Social Care service. They aim to streamline transitions through one team, working across the previous Preparing for Adulthood, County Disability and Reaching for Independence teams. Read more about the change. 

We have highlighted this story before, but please see below a link to an empowering short video explaining more about how Learn Devon worked in partnership with reaching for Independence teams and local businesses to enable many people the opportunity to gain paid employment, many for the first time in their lives. You can hear from some of the people how much of a difference it has made to their lives. 

If you are struggling with any aspect of your wellbeing at all, or you lead a team who would benefit from support, find out more about how the Hub can help you today. They also run free, virtual workshops on a range of wellbeing topics. Click below to see the Hub website and details of sessions.