Adult social care is one of the most significant statutory responsibilities for councils, and a central consideration in local government reorganisation
Clear leadership, safe transition planning and strong partnership working are essential to ensuring that adults who draw on care and support, unpaid carers and vulnerable residents remain at the heart of reorganisation.
Adult social care plays a critical role in supporting people to live independently, maintain wellbeing and access the care and support they need. During LGR, councils will need to ensure continuity of statutory duties while bringing together different operating models, systems, contracts, partnerships and local approaches.
Insights from LGR-experienced councils show that effective adult social care arrangements typically involve:
Establishing clear senior leadership for adult social care from the outset, with early involvement in decisions about operating models, governance, safeguarding and partnership arrangements.
Maintaining a strong focus on safe and legal delivery from day one, including workforce planning and continuity of statutory duties, assessment pathways, casework, safeguarding arrangements and financial processes.
Developing robust programme management arrangements, with clear dependencies between adult social care, finance, digital, workforce, legal, commissioning and customer access workstreams.
Mapping provider markets, contracts and commissioning arrangements early to support market stability and continuity of care.
Engaging providers, NHS partners, voluntary and community sector organisations, district councils and people with lived experience to inform future service design.
Supporting workforce stability through early communication, engagement, role clarity and recognition of the scale of change for staff.
Prioritising digital, data and case management system readiness, including information governance, data migration and performance reporting.
Using LGR as an opportunity to strengthen prevention and place-based approaches, drawing on the contribution of housing, leisure, community services and local partners.
Ensuring financial and technical enablers are understood early, including demand pressures, budget alignment, charging, payments and contract commitments.
Aligning adult social care planning with wider assurance and improvement activity, including CQC assessment expectations and local system reform.
This approach helps councils maintain continuity and manage risk while creating the conditions for longer-term improvement. Clear accountability, stable partnerships and a shared understanding of adult social care priorities support the new authority to protect vulnerable adults, work effectively with providers and partners, and build services that are safe, sustainable and rooted in local communities.
Overall, well-planned adult social care arrangements provide a strong foundation for safe transition, effective partnership working and improved outcomes for people who draw on care and support.
Top resources
This session looked at key issues councils need to be thinking about as they move into the next phase of local government reorganisation, including how to keep the best interests of children and vulnerable adults at the heart of those discussions. The session focused on key themes and strategy, rather than the detailed delivery of these services, enabling attendees to consider social services in the wider context of LGR.
2:18 – 25:08 – Rachel Shimmin, Chief Executive, Buckinghamshire Council. Strategic partnerships; workforce planning; casework; market oversight and commissioning; service development and reform; communication and engagement; financial and technical enablers.
25:32 – 54:41 – Panel discussion including Rachel Shimmin, Milorad Vasic (Director of Children’s Services, Westmorland and Furness Council) and Jonathan Price (Executive Director, People – Adults Services, Dorset Council). Reflections on challenges faced, what worked well, and key lessons learnt.
This report summarises the lessons learnt through previous rounds of LGR, through an adult social care lens. Key takeaway lessons focus on issues such as safeguarding, robust programme management, provider stability and digital and data readiness.
The report is broken down into the following areas:
key takeaway lessons
general lessons
leadership
finance and funding
operational
annex: resources
Further reading
This briefing pack is designed to provide a foundational understanding of adult social care - what it is, why it matters, and how it operates within the council. It explores questions and challenges in key areas in health and adult social care from an elected member perspective.
This MHCLG - Local government reorganisation: Considerations for partnership working in social care for new unitary authorities guidance outlines why areas undergoing Local Government Reorganisation must consider partnership working to maintain safe, sustainable adult and children’s social care across new unitary boundaries. It sets out the importance of service continuity, opportunities for collaboration, and key considerations for leadership, commissioning and strategic planning. It also highlights available national support and provides case studies illustrating effective regional partnership models.
1. Introduction 2. Prioritising service continuity 3. Partnership working 4. Support 5. Case studies
This report for DCN by IMPOWER Consulting is designed to support leaders across all parts of government to engage constructively with the future of adult social care (ASC), focusing on key messages for local areas to consider through the reorganisation process. It includes case studies from Northamptonshire, Dorset, Cumbria and Cheshire, along with lessons from a range of LGR-experienced officers.
Page 10: The context for adult social care Page 18: What districts already do and why it matters for reconfiguring ASC Page 23: Does scale matter? Page 27: What are the real conditions for success? Page 31: A vision for postreform ASC services Page 36: Supporting you in local LGR conversations Page 37: Mapping and understanding your local context Page 46: Identifying what model will work best in your local context Page 47: Practical lessons on disaggregating social care Page 53: Conclusion
This report is designed to provide a foundational understanding of adult social care - what it is, why it matters, and how it operates within the council. It explores questions and challenges in key areas in health and adult social care from a senior leadership perspective.
