Issue - meetings

Report of the Director of Adult Services and Housing

Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Adult Services and Housing in respect of the re-commissioning of long-term home support.

The report would also be considered by Council at their meeting on 25 March 2025.

The Council had a statutory duty under the Care Act (2014) to provide care and support to adults whose needs meet the eligibility criteria detailed in this legislation. This includes wellbeing and prevention duties that prevent the need for more intensive forms of care and support.  Home support was commonly referred to as domiciliary care or home care and the terms were used interchangeably. Home support was regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and can cover a wide range of activities, including (but not limited to) the provision of personal care such as assistance with washing/bathing, getting dressed, going to the toilet as well as support with medication, nutrition, and hydration. These services were delivered in the person’s home and seek to support people to remain in the community and promote independence as much as possible. Being supported in their own homes was the preference for most people requiring care and support rather than more intensive forms of care. Home support was often supplemented by the use of technology to enable people to remain supported at home.

Home support could also extend to reablement services (help to regain or retain skills and confidence) for people leaving hospital or seeking care and support for the first time. Reablement services sought to delay or reduce the need for ongoing care and support. These services arewere not the subject of this re-commissioning as services were tendered with new contracts commencing in May 2024, however those people going on to require ongoing support to live at home would benefit from the revised commissioning arrangements 

The current re-commissioning is, therefore, restricted to Long Term Home Support Services (LTHS) with current contractual arrangements which were due to expire in December 2025.

RESOLVED that Cabinet recommends that Council delegate authority to the Director of Adult Services and Housing, following consultation with the Director of Finance and Resources and the Director of Law and Governance, to undertake the tendering of long-term home support services (including the power to enter into any necessary legal agreements required to facilitate entering into the contracts for a period up to 8 years).