Briefings and responses

The NHS does not operate in isolation. The commitment for increased funding for the NHS will only be maximised if there is an equivalent scale of investment in social care, public health and prevention services that both improve people’s health, wellbeing and independence and relieve pressure on frontline NHS services.

The LGA has offered to work with the Department of Health and Social Care, the NHS and Health Education England to get the right number of training places commissioned and to deliver policies to ensure health visiting remains an attractive and valued career.

The issue of relatively low pay in the social care sector is highlighted regularly and the settlement in the Spending Round provides resources to begin to address this challenge. In the long term the low pay needs to be addressed as part of the arrangements for the future funding of both adult and children’s social care.

Adult social care is a vital service, supporting people’s independence and wellbeing. It strengthens our communities, helps sustain our NHS and adds essential economic value to our country. We estimate that, since 2010, councils have had to bridge a £6 billion funding shortfall just to keep the adult social care system going.

This joint briefing note for clinical commissioning groups (CCG), local authority learning disability commissioners and Directors of Housing has been prepared by NHS England and NHS Improvement, the Local Government Association and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Care (ADASS).

This briefing is to update you on the development of Primary care networks (PCNs) which were established on 1 July and to provide advice on the contribution of local government to this important change to the health and care landscape.

Councils support active travel. Getting people to use more active travel will improve congestion, air quality and obesity rates, which in turn have substantial benefits such as for local economies, education and taxpayers.

On 13 February 2019, the Supreme Court granted Unison leave to appeal the Court of Appeal judgment. The case has been listed to be heard on 12 and 13 February 2020.

People can be vulnerable in a wide range of different ways. Councils are often at the forefront of understanding, mitigating and managing this complexity in their local communities.

A multi-agency approach is needed to tackle this crime, with flexibility in the new package of support to ensure services can be tailored to the needs of different areas.