Briefings and responses

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).

The information contained in this briefing draws on a wide range of feedback from councils.

COVID-19 has put adult social care firmly in the public, political and media spotlight. This emergency has highlighted the essential value of social care to the wider public and this interest needs to be harnessed in the debate about the future of care and support. Long-term reform is urgently needed and we are calling on the Government to set out its thinking before the summer recess.

Since March (2016), the establishment of 44 Sustainability and Transformation Plans has continued apace, with each required to draft proposals to transform local health and care services.

There is cross-party consensus within local government that integration is the only way to achieve a sustainable and effective health and care service.

The absence of additional funding for social care will have knock-on effects on the viability of providers and the sustainability of the NHS.

Since its launch in May 2013, over 100 councils across the country have signed the Local Government Declaration on Tobacco Control.

As the UK leaves the European Union, it is important that any future relationship with the EU explicitly meets the needs of the UK health and care sector.

It is essential that councils have a range of tools at their disposal to allow them to work quickly to help suppress the virus in their communities and take action against non-compliant businesses before it is too late.

The final legislation needs to highlight the rights of individuals to be consulted in decisions and ensure that they, their families and carers, and the sector as a whole, have the confidence that there will be independent oversight of those decisions when appropriate.