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Dear colleagues,
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock, spoke at our annual conference, acknowledging the importance of health and wellbeing boards: "They are a vital component in bringing together local authorities, NHS commissioners and elected representatives to create a strategic vision for a local area so we’re accurately identifying needs, and coordinating care."
It was heartening to hear that the Secretary of State also understands the importance of health and wellbeing boards in providing collaborative leadership to drive forward action to improve care and support, health and wellbeing outcomes, and address health inequalities. And our new publication, What a difference a place makes: the growing impact of health and wellbeing boards, provides concrete evidence of this with examples from 23 areas.
Also, to mark the one year anniversary of our consultation on the green paper for adult social care and wellbeing, I gave the Secretary of State our new report in which we have published a number of perspectives on two broad issues: what is happening to adult social care on the ground and what life is like for people who experience care and support; and what the context is to the debate about the future of adult social care and where that might go next.
Yours,
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Cllr Ian Hudspeth
Chairman, LGA Community Wellbeing
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Stories
Armed Forces Covenant case studies
In other Community Wellbeing Annual Conference sessions, we brought personalisation to life by hearing from three people about their experiences of person centred care and support, and we had a lively debate about how councils are delivering the Armed Forces Covenant locally. Read the new case studies.
Childhood Obesity Trailblazer Programme
This three year programme asks councils to lead innovative action in their local community to tackle childhood obesity. After 13 councils completed a discovery phase, five council-led projects have now been selected as Trailblazer Authorities.
Autism self-assesment
The results of the fifth autism self-assessment exercise - undertaken in 2018 have been published by PHE. It is accompanied by an interactive dashboard which stakeholders can use to see and compare data about their area.
Update on Payments for Sleep-in Shifts in Social Care
The Supreme Court will hear Unison’s appeal against Mencap’s Court of Appeal case on payment for social care sleep-in shifts on 12 and 13 February 2020. Please see the LGA’s briefing for the latest situation and suggestions for actions councils might like to take given the possibility of another change in the law.
£5 million fund to develop support for unpaid carers
The £5 million Carers Innovation Fund will invest in innovative ways of supporting unpaid carers, outside of mainstream health and care services.
Involved & informed: good community medicines support
The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has launched a new initiative to encourage better medicines support for people who are receiving social care services in their homes.
Publications
One year on: the LGA green paper for adult social care and wellbeing
LGA
What a difference a place makes: the growing impact of health and wellbeing boards
LGA
Councils Can: 2019 conference paper
LGA
Improving children and young people's mental health and emotional wellbeing
LGA
The changing face of clinical commissioning
NHS Clinical Commissioners
Taking the p***: the decline of the great British public toilet
Royal Society for Public Health
Adaptations without delay: a guide to planning and delivering home adaptations differently
Royal College of Occupational Therapists
Hidden no more: dementia and disabilty
All-Party Parliamentary Group on Dementia
Decent and accessible homes for older people
APPG for Ageing and Older People
Sharing ideas
Public health risk awareness self-assessment tool
The Association of Directors of Public Health and the LGA have developed a risk tool to support system leaders in local authorities in defining and understanding risk as it relates to public health commissioning, performance, partnership and resource management.
Free health and social care support for councils
We know local leaders want to help their communities stay healthy and receive the best possible care. Our support offer is designed to help them transform social care, health and integration, and lead health improvement and prevention locally.
Building happier, healthier, longer lives
Autistica has published a report on how to close the gap in life expectancy between autistic people and the rest of the population.
Guide to making the most of volunteers' talents
The Centre for Ageing Better has produced new guide to help organisations make their volunteering practices more age-friendly and inclusive.
Events
Healthy weight, healthy future: making childhood obesity everybody’s business 17 July 2019 | London
How the integration of hospitals and care home services can better facilitate transfers of care
17 July 2019 | London
Leadership Essentials residential sessions 18-19 July; 15-16 October; and 5-6 November
National Children and Adult Services Conference and Exhibition 2019
20-22 November 2019 | Bournemouth
Arts on prescription: cutting edge research, collaborative practice and engaging opportunities
21 November 2019 | London
Media
Councils set Government ten-week deadline to publish much-delayed social care green paper
3 July 2019
LGA: health and wellbeing boards are achieving their goal
3 July 2019
LGA responds to Healthwatch England report on dementia care
1 July 2019
Parliamentary
NHS England
Chief Executive of NHS England, Simon Stevens, gave evidence to the Health and Social Care Committee. Committee Chair, Sarah Wollaston MP, asked whether Mr Stevens was concerned that there may not be a Spending Review this autumn. Mr Stevens said the NHS needed certainty on its five-year outlook for capital spending, education, social care and public health. Ben Bradshaw MP asked for an update on the social care Green Paper. In response, Mr Stevens said that he had seen a draft of the Green Paper, but it had not addressed the current problems with social care.
Social care funding
The House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee published their report 'Social care funding: time to end a national scandal'. The report noted that adult social care in England is inadequately funded, with rising levels of unmet need and an increasing number of older people and working-age adults requiring care. The report recommended that the Government should avoid further delay and produce a White Paper with clear policy proposals for social care, rather than a Green Paper.
Dementia
In a debate on dementia, several MPs highlighted the need to reform and fund social care. Debbie Abrahams MP described current social care provision as inadequate and inaccessible. Ms Abrahams and other Members called on the Government to publish its Green Paper. In response the Minister for Care, Caroline Dinenage MP, committed to publishing the Green Paper at the earliest opportunity and to address short-term social care funding in the Spending Review.
Social care: workforce and recruitment challenges
Sally Burlington, LGA Head of Policy, gave evidence to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Social Care. The session focused on the social care workforce and the recruitment and retention challenges facing the sector. Ms Burlington said that the findings from our Green Paper had revealed a lack of understanding about how social care works and highlighted our recommendation that the Government should launch an awareness campaign on the value of social care and its workforce.
Mental health
The Prime Minister announced extra funding to strengthen and deliver local suicide prevention plans as we welcomed this clear endorsement of councils’ locally-driven approach to prevention and early intervention. The announcement included £600,000 for ourselves and the Association of Directors of Public Health to jointly develop a new suicide prevention sector led improvement offer for councils. We’ll also be pressing the Government to ensure the overhaul of the Mental Health Act is matched by a commitment to invest more in community and school mental health services.
first magazine
First Magazine - now online
'first' is LGA's membership magazine and is received as a hard copy by over 18,000 councillors and 400 chief executives. In a response to demand, we have made it easier to read online by creating a dedicated website to read all of its articles, interviews and opinion pieces.
Both the hard copy and online pdf are still available to readers, and subscriptions can be amended online.
This month's highlights include:
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