As we come to the end of the year, we would like to thank you all for your continuous hard work and dedication for all the people in your care.
Please note that this will be the last PEN newsletter of the year and will start sending them back out from 9 January 2026! Any articles shared between this time, will be spread over the next few weeks as we welcome in the new year.
In the mean-time, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all!
We do our best to keep the content and structure of our PEN website up-to-date in these fast-changing times and your suggestions on how to improve the website are always welcome.
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Wishing You a Happy and Peaceful Festive Period From Devon County Council
As the festive season approaches, we want to take a moment to say a heartfelt thank you for everything you do. Your commitment, collaboration, and the incredible care you provide to those who need it most make a real difference every single day. Because of your efforts, Devon’s communities are stronger, more diverse, and more resilient—and we’re proud to work alongside you.
This year has brought its share of challenges (as they all do!), but your dedication and compassion have truly shone through. Together, we’ve introduced the new care homes contract, the older persons fee model, and navigated our first Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection. We’ve also welcomed Newton as improvement partners, and we’ll be reaching out to you as key stakeholders in this important work.
We’ve made changes within our teams too, aligning more closely with our core responsibilities around market sustainability and sufficiency, so we can work with you even more effectively. Thank you for supporting us through these changes and helping us get it right.
Our partnership remains vital as we face challenges together and strive to do the very best we can within our means. While we know social care never truly stops over the festive period, we hope you find time to rest and recharge.
Wishing you, your teams, and your loved ones a joyful, peaceful festive season and a New Year filled with health, happiness, and hope.
Best wishes
Solveig Wright, Deputy Director of Integrated Adult Social Care – Commissioning
Amy Howard, Deputy Director of Integrated Adult Social Care – Operations
Care Homes Payment Schedule – Christmas Period
Please find below the Care Homes payment schedule for the Christmas period, along with the message that will appear on your remittance advice:
Remittance Message: This payment is being received a week early, on 19/12/2025, due to the Christmas period. Following this, your next payment will be received on 09/01/2026.
If you need any further information or assistance, please don’t hesitate to get in touch at socialcarebusinessrelations-mailbox@devon.gov.uk.
Are You Updating the Capacity Tracker Daily?
Keeping the Capacity Tracker up to date is essential. If daily updates aren’t made, we won’t be able to see your available vacancies and that means missed opportunities for referrals.
Please update your Capacity Tracker every day to make sure your services are considered for referrals.
Are Your Contact Details Up to Date
To make sure you continue receiving referrals and important updates from us, we need your correct email addresses on file. Click Here to update our quick Provider Contact Details Update Form so we can keep you informed – When updating, make sure you select the appropriate email address for the relevant purpose - whether for referrals, procurement and contracting, or other communications. This link is also available on our PEN webpage [Visit the Support for Providers page]
Winter Readiness Toolkit
The UK Health Security Agency South West (UKHSA SW), in partnership with South West Councils, has launched a Winter Readiness Toolkit to support care homes and other residential care settings.
This toolkit is designed to help managers and staff with:
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Planning and preparationfor infections and outbreaks, which are more common during winter.
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Early recognition and effective managementof outbreaks.
It includes:
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Links to key national guidanceon infection prevention and control.
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Quick-reference local resourcesfor use by staff, residents, relatives, and visitors.
Care Home Forum Dates for 2026
We are pleased to share the updated schedule for the County Care Home Forums and Care with Accommodation for People with Disabilities Forums for 2026. Please save the dates in your calendars!
We wish you all a restful holiday and thank you for all your contributions this year.
2025-26 Adult Social Care User Survey being sent out in January
The Department of Health and Care’s annual statutory Adult Social Care User Survey (ASCS) will be sent out in January 2026. The survey seeks the opinions of service users aged 18 and over in receipt of long-term support services funded or managed by social services and is designed to help the adult social care sector understand more about how services are affecting lives to enable choice and for informing service development.
The same survey is sent to people receiving support from every local authority in England and asks adult social care service users in the community or residential care, about their quality of life and what impact care and support services have on their quality of life. Data from this survey enables councils to benchmark against peers and to gather information to support their local commissioning , performance and strategy. It also supplies data for a number of measures in the Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework.
It’s important that you know about the survey in case you get asked about it.
- Questionnaires will be posted out to approximately 1,300 adult social care users in the week commencing 12 January 2026.
There will be a helpline in operation For enquiries about this survey please use Adult Social Care Surveys Helpline on 0345 155 1012 or email: ascsurvey@devon.gov.uk
- The results of the survey should be available in Spring 2026. Our adult social care service users experiences will be compared with those from previous surveys, and data from all other local authorities when the information is available later in Autumn 2026.
Find out more about the survey on the NHS Digital Social Care User Surveys website
As well as the national helpline, you can also contact Kathryn Bird in the Involvement Team at Devon County Council on 01392 383000 for more details.
Please Help Shape the Future of Community-Based Adult Social Care in Devon
The Co-production Group—a collaboration of practitioners, care providers, VCSE organisations, and lived experience representatives—is working together to inform the recommissioning of community services across Devon.
We’re keen to hear from day services, enabling providers, domiciliary care teams, reablement services, and others who support individuals in the community. If that’s you, we’d love to learn more about your approach to care and support.
We’re especially interested in hearing from those working in a strengths-based way, and those who want to celebrate the positive impact they help individuals achieve.
We haven’t had many responses to date, so please take a few moments to complete our survey and help us build a richer picture of the incredible work happening across Devon: Survey: Strengths-Based Approaches in Social Care – Fill in form
Goodbye to Paul Giblin
Many of you will have met Paul Giblin who helped establish the Provider Engagement Network and who has kept an editorial eye on this newsletter since its inception. Paul retires from Devon County Council at Christmas, after over 40 years with the local authority. We’re sure you will join us in wishing him well.
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Remember to share your good news stories in this newsletter
Has the support you've provided helped transform someone’s life? Have you got innovative practice to share? Send us your celebratory photos and words and we will help share good practice.
Revisit previous good news stories
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