Publications

This document is designed to support councils as they prepare for assurance of Adult Social Care (ASC) through assessment by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). This document is designed to support councils as they prepare for assurance of adult social care (ASC) through assessment by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). This guide was updated in March 2024 to reflect learning from the CQC pilot inspections and the most recent assessment framework for local authority assurance.

This document has been prepared by Partners in Care and Health (PCH) to support councils as they prepare for assurance of adult social care through assessment by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

These health visiting case studies illustrate the pivotal role health visitors play in ensuring children and families get the support they need in challenging times.

International recruitment can help to boost workforce capacity, bring in additional skills and expertise, and provide a more diverse workforce. However, international recruitment to adult social care also creates the conditions that can enable exploitation of social care staff. The purpose of this guide is to provide an overview of the international recruitment process as it relates to adult social care.

'Closed cultures' have been identified as a major risk to the wellbeing and human rights of people with care and support needs, who are unable to protect themselves from abuse or neglect, due to their care and support needs. The aim of this document is to provide guidance for the council workforce on identifying where a ‘closed culture’ may exist, or there may be a risk of one developing, in social care services for people with a learning disability and autistic people.

The Employer Standards survey, also known as the ‘health check’, gives a voice to registered social workers, occupational therapists, and non-registered social care professionals. It helps them feel listened to and know that their employers are proactive in tackling challenges. The key purpose of the survey is to better understand a number of critical questions about the experiences of the social care workforce in England.

Getting people home from hospital or helping them maintain their independence in their own home for longer are long-held policy goals; they also underpin the Better Care Fund policy and support programme, as well as the Local Government Association’s integration vision.

The role of the audit committee is normally to seek assurance that the council’s financial reporting, internal controls, governance, and risk management are effective and can be relied upon by councillors and citizens. The audit committee is the committee of the council to which has been delegated the task of looking into such matters in detail.

The following summary sets out the sector support offer available to local authorities in 2024/25.

Between September and November 2023, the LGA conducted a survey of local councils on their preparedness to deal with a cyber incident. The purpose of the survey was to provide the LGA with a baseline on which to build its Cyber, Digital and Technology programme and ensure that local authorities have the support they most need to respond to the increasing cyber threat. This report outlines the findings.