Agenda item

Report of the Director of Adult Services and Housing

Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Adult Services and Housing, that had been considered by Health and Social Care Scrutiny Board (5) at their meeting on 4^th September 2024 and would also be considered at the meeting of the Council on 15th October 2024, which detailed the Adult Social Care Annual Report 2023/24 (also referred to as the Local Account). This year the Annual Report mirrored the content of the Self-Assessment, highlighting some of the work being done through examples and spotlights on the support provided. It was intended that the annual report be read alongside the Self-Assessment. Appendices to the report provided: the Annual Report (Local Account) 2023/24; and the Adult Social Care Self-Assessment 2023/24.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) were responsible for assessing Local Authorities’ delivery of their adult social care functions and had produced a framework to assess how well Local Authorities were performing against their duties under Part One of the Care Act 2014. As part of these arrangements Local Authorities were required to complete a Self-Assessment for issuing to the Care Quality Commission following receipt of the ‘Notification of Inspection’ by the Local Authority. Coventry City Council had not yet received a ‘Notification of Inspection’ letter but preparation for inspection was an ongoing process of which the production of a self-assessment was part.

Coventry City Council Adult Social Care had for many years produced an Annual Report which covered performance and activity for the previous year along with examples and case studies of where positive impact had been made to people’s lives. Although the production of an Annual Report was not a requirement it had always been well received by stakeholders so was something that was being continued with but had restructured the format to cover each of the four CQC themes for inspection and the quality statements associated with these themes. However, as the CQC self-assessment process also required the provision of a range of operational detail, the Annual Report had also been produced to mirror this detail. The Self-Assessment and Annual Report provided the totality of the City Councils Self-Assessment in preparation for CQC inspection. 

The Self-Assessment would be updated annually and presented alongside the Annual Report and provided to the CQC when the Council was selected for an inspection.

The approach taken to the both the Self-Assessment and Annual Report demonstrated an open approach to successes, challenges and where the Authority could develop further in order to improve outcomes for people with care and support needs and their unpaid carers within Coventry. The Self-Assessment also provided the opportunity to present the context within which CQC would be inspecting Adult Social Care in Coventry.

The production of the 2023/24 report has drawn on the pool of feedback and information that was gathered over the year from a range of sources including social care staff, Partnership Boards, Adult Social Care Stakeholder Group, providers, partner organisations and people who had been in contact with Adult Social Care, along with their families and carers.

Cabinet considered a briefing note detailing Health and Social Care Scrutiny Board (5) consideration of the report (their minute 10/24 referred), that was appended to the report, and set out their recommendations for Cabinet. The Board recommended that Cabinet:

1)  Accept the recommendations within the report.

2)  Consider an amendment to the report under ‘Discharges for 2023/24’ to include an additional paragraph giving clarification for the hospital discharge pathways.

RESOLVED that:

1)  In respect of the recommendations from the Health and Social Care Scrutiny Board (5):

a)  Cabinet accepts the recommendations within the report.

b)  Cabinet agrees to an amendment to the Adult Social Care Self-Assessment Report under ‘Discharges for 2023/24’ to include an additional paragraph giving clarification for the hospital discharge pathways, and that this amendment be made to the report prior to its submission to Council.

2)  Cabinet approves the Adult Social Care Self-Assessment and Annual Report (Local Account) 2023/24.

3)  Cabinet has no further comments on the content of the Self-Assessment and Annual Report (Local Account) 2023/24 for Council’s consideration.