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Meeting: |
People Scrutiny |
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Meeting date: |
08/09/2026 |
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Report of: |
Sara Storey, Corporate Director of Adult Social Care and Integration |
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Portfolio of: |
Cllr Steels-Walshaw, Executive Member for Health, Wellbeing and Adult Social Care |
Decision Report: Adult Social Care Strategy
Subject of Report
1. To provide Scrutiny with an update on how the Adult Social Care Strategy is being taken forward through the Adult Social Care Improvement Programme and the developing delivery arrangements.
2. This report is for information and provides an update on the approach being taken. No decision is required.
Benefits and Challenges
3. Adult Social Care continues to operate in a challenging environment, with increasing demand, growing complexity of need and significant financial pressure. At the same time, the service is responding to the findings of the Care Quality Commission assessment and progressing the improvements required to strengthen the quality, consistency and effectiveness of services.
4. The service must therefore maintain safe and effective day-to-day delivery, whilst also progressing improvement activity and delivering the financial savings required by the Council. Managing these priorities together places considerable pressure on leadership, workforce capacity and frontline services.
5. Adult Social Care Improvement Programme provides the framework for bringing this work together. It is structured into six workstreams: Early Intervention and Prevention, Practice Improvement, Market Intervention, Supported Housing, Leadership Workforce and Culture; and Financial Sustainability.
6. The programme is intended to strengthen delivery, provide clearer ownership and oversight, and ensure improvement activity supports better outcomes for people, greater independence, improved quality and longer-term financial sustainability.
7. The Adult Social Care Delivery Plan will continue to be regularly reviewed as the Improvement Programme is further developed, bringing together the Adult Social Care Strategy, the Care Quality Commission assessment and the Improvement Advisor, the priorities identified through the Improvement Board, and the Adult Social Care savings plans.
8. The supporting resource plan will also continue to be developed alongside this work to provide greater clarity on capacity required to deliver the programme and the outcomes expected from that investment.
9. The approach is intended to bring greater clarity and alignment across Adult Social Care Strategy, improvement activity, financial sustainability, and resources required to deliver change, while maintaining safe and effective day-to-day services.
Policy and Strategic Context
10. The Adult Social Care Strategy supports the priorities and core commitments set out in the City of York Council Plan. It contributes to:
a. Health and Wellbeing – supporting people to remain independent, preventing or delaying the need for care and reducing health inequalities.
b. Equalities and Human Rights – promoting choice, dignity, independence and person-centred support.
c. Affordability – making best use of available resources, improving value for money and supporting financial sustainability.
d. Climate and Environment – supporting more sustainable, community-based models of care and reducing reliance on avoidable institutional or out-of-area provision.
11. The Adult Social Care Improvement Programme provides the framework through which these strategic priorities are being translated into delivery across the six improvement workstreams.
Financial Strategy Implications
12. Adult Social Care continues to operate within significant financial pressure, with increasing demand and complexity of need alongside workforce and commissioned care pressures. Financial sustainability is therefore integral to the delivery of the Adult Social Care Strategy and Improvement Programme.
13. The five service improvement workstreams will deliver the operational and service changes required to improve outcomes for people and support greater independence, quality and sustainability. The Adult Social Care savings delivery plans are aligned to these workstreams and the improvement activity being delivered through them.
14. The Adult Social Care savings delivery plans are, in the main, based on improving outcomes and the way services are delivered, with financial savings resulting from improved practice, prevention and early intervention, greater independence, better use of existing capacity and reduced reliance on higher-cost provision.
15. Financial Sustainability operates as a sixth, cross cutting workstream. Its role is to strengthen understanding of demand and cost drivers, benchmarking, financial modelling and forecasting, benefits tracking, financial controls and assurance of financial delivery across the programme.
16. The approach will provide a stronger link between service improvements, outcomes and the underlying position, enabling emerging pressures, variances and opportunities to be identified and acted upon at an earlier stage.
17. Investment has also been identified to provide additional capacity to support delivery of the Improvement Programme. The Resource Plan is being further developed to provide a clearer link between investment, workstreams, the activity being delivered and the outcomes expected from that investment.
18. The Resource Plan sets out the additional capacity identified to support delivery of the Adult Social Care Improvement Programme. Resources are aligned to the improvement workstreams and the activity they are intended to deliver, with some areas of investment also directly supporting delivery of the Adult Social Care savings delivery plans. This additional investment is funded from the Adult Social Care growth.
Resource Plan cost by workstream
|
Forecast 26/27 |
27/28 |
28/29 |
29/30 |
|
|
Early Intervention & Prevention |
86 |
383 |
395 |
404 |
|
Practice Improvement |
1,712 |
698 |
229 |
173 |
|
Market Intervention |
89 |
- |
- |
- |
|
Supported Housing |
141 |
417 |
431 |
442 |
|
Leadership, Workforce & Culture |
258 |
545 |
455 |
379 |
|
Cross Cutting |
322 |
600 |
408 |
280 |
|
Total |
2,709 |
2,643 |
1,917 |
1,678 |
19. The Resource Plan is being further developed to provide greater clarity on how each area of investment supports the improvement workstreams, the expected benefits and outcomes, links to the Adult Social Care savings delivery plans where relevant, and progress with recruitment and implementation.
20. Alongside the investment, the Adult Social Care savings delivery plans are aligned to the improvement workstreams and the service changes through which savings will be delivered. In the main, these plans seek to improve outcomes and independence, strengthen practice and make better use of resources, with financial savings resulting from those improvements.
21. The Council has already approved a number of Adult Social Care savings for 2026/27. These are set out below and form part of the Council’s agreed financial plans.
2026/27 Identified budget savings
|
ASC ref |
Project |
Savings 26/27 (£k) |
|
|
Total |
400 |
||
|
ASC01 |
Transport Services |
Review of transport provision to rationalise routes and commission services. |
100 |
|
ASC02 |
Supported Employment |
End of current supported employment contract with a service continuing through York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority funding. |
94 |
|
ASC03 |
Out of Area Placements |
Review out of area care placements and move individuals back to the York area where appropriate |
206 |
22. In addition to the approved savings, several further savings opportunities have been identified. These are aligned to the improvement workstreams and are being developed through the Adult Social Care savings delivery plans. The current profile of these opportunities is set out below.
|
Priority |
Projects delivering savings |
2026/27 |
2027/28 |
2028/29 |
2029/30 |
|
Early Intervention and Prevention |
Front door |
136 |
409 |
887 |
1,365 |
|
Practice Improvement |
Residential and Nursing Care Usage, increase Health income, Direct Payments |
1,092 |
1,659 |
1,884 |
1,884 |
|
Market Intervention |
In house reviews and maximising in house resource |
82 |
210 |
210 |
210 |
|
Supported Housing |
Reduce voids in supported housing schemes and review of supported living schemes |
355 |
509 |
- |
- |
|
Workforce leadership and culture |
Agency Usage |
162 |
- |
- |
- |
|
Total |
1,826 |
2,787 |
2,981 |
3,459 |
23. The savings opportunities and delivery plans will continue to be developed and validated through the relevant improvement workstreams, including confirmation of delivery activity, timescales, financial impact and benefits. Financial savings will only be reflected as deliverable savings where they are sufficiently evidenced, agreed and measurable.
24. The financial sustainability workstream will provide cross-programme oversight and assurance, including improved understanding of demand and cost drivers, benchmarking, financial modelling and forecasting, benefits tracking and strengthened financial controls.
Recommendation and Reasons
25. Scrutiny is asked to:
a. Note the development of the overarching Adult Social Care Strategy Delivery Plan which brings together the improvement activity and outcomes delivered through the Adult Social Care Improvement Programme and the Adult Social Care savings delivery plans; and
b. Provide feedback, questions on the current draft Adult Social Care Strategy Delivery Plan
c. Note the approach to monitoring progress and outcomes.
26. This approach will provide a single, coherent framework for translating the Adult Social Care Strategy into delivery, strengthening oversight of progress, outcomes, improvement activity and financial sustainability.
Background
27. The strategy, equality impact assessment and summary of consultation results were presented to Scrutiny on 8 October 2025.
28. The purpose of the strategy is to provide a clear, coherent statement of vision, priorities, and planned activity for adult social care in York. The strategy is aligned with existing local plans and commitments while ensuring it is accessible, easy to understand, and consistent with the language and tone of other CYC strategic documents.
29. The strategy aims to create a strong foundation for future planning and delivery, supporting a shared understanding of direction and purpose across the system.
30. It is designed to:
a. Reflect what matters most to people who draw on care and support, and those who support and work alongside them.
b. Ensure alignment with wider strategic documents, including the Council Plan, Health and Wellbeing Strategy, and Joint Strategic Needs Assessment.
c. Provide a focused, high-level framework to guide future decision-making, commissioning, and service development.
d. Clearly communicate the city’s vision and priorities for adult social care.
31. The strategy outlines the Vision for adult social care, along with the commitments, approaches and priorities for 2025 – 2028.
32. The outputs from 2025/2026 are currently being drafted into the Local Account.
Delivery Plan
33. The overarching Adult Social Care Strategy Delivery Plan is set out at Annex A. It translates the Strategy into an integrated delivery framework bringing together improvement workstreams and financial sustainability, and key enabling priorities.
34. High Level delivery plan:
35. The Delivery Plan will be supported by detailed workstream plans, setting out the key activity, milestones, measures, accountable leads aligned to the intended outcomes. These will bring together financial sustainability and the improvement activity and outcomes delivered through the Adult Social Care Improvement Programme and Adult Social savings delivery plans.
High-level summary of progress
36. Significant progress has been made in establishing the strategic direction, governance and delivery arrangements required to support sustainable improvement:
a. Leadership, workforce and culture: Resource requirements and capacity gaps have been identified. Recruitment to key leadership and programme roles is progressing, alongside the Head of Service restructure and wider work to strengthen organisational capacity, accountability and culture. A Quality Assurance and Performance Forum has been established, with a performance framework, data cleansing and dashboards in development.
b. Early Intervention and Prevention: Early impact is being demonstrated through the Front Door redesign, including multidisciplinary working, improved advice and guidance, diversion from statutory services where appropriate, and better use of assistive technology.
c. Practice Improvement: Further improvements include Learning Disability and Autism transformation programme, preparation for Adulthood, implementation of the Carers Strategy, implementation of the Co-Production strategy and strengthened Direct Payments processes.
d. Market Intervention: Work is progressing to develop a more strategic and outcome-focused approach to commissioning. This includes development of the dementia model, implementation of the VSCE Commissioning principles, improvements to Live Well York and the development of a neighbourhood model. Together this work aims to make better use of community assets, strengthen preventative support and improve access to information, advised and community-based services.
e. Cross-council working: Engagement and joint working have increased across Public Health, Housing, Finance, Procurement, Transformation, Strategy and Policy, supporting a more coordinated response to the wider factors affecting adult social care outcomes and financial sustainability.
Consultation Analysis
37. Co-production, consultation and engagement with people who draw on care and support, unpaid carers and people with lived experience are being embedded within the delivery workstreams and will continue to inform the development and implementation of the activity.
Options Analysis and Evidential Basis
38. There are no alternative options to consider, as the report provides an update and seeks Scrutiny’s comments on the proposed Delivery Plan.
Organisational Impact and Implications
39. The organisational impact and impacts are as follows:
· Financial, contact: Chief Finance Officer.
The Delivery Plan provides the overarching framework for activity intended to improve outcomes and support financial sustainability. The investment required for additional resources is funded from Social Care Growth and agreed with Finance.
· Human Resources (HR), contact: Directorate HR Manager and Chief Officer HR and Support Services
The programme required additional workforce resources which are either recruited to or in progress.
· Legal, contact: Head of Legal Services – n/a
· Procurement, contact: Head of Procurement – n/a.
· Health and Wellbeing, contact: enquiries.publichealth@york.gov.uk
Public Health supports the recommendations of the report. The approach and priorities explained within the Adult Social Care Strategy supports the York Health & Wellbeing Strategy 2022-2032 to make good health more equal across the city.
· Environment and Climate action, contact: Director of Transport, Environment and Planning, and Head of Carbon Reduction. – n/a
· Affordability, contact: Director of Customer and Communities.
The Equality Impact Assessment completed
· Equalities and Human Rights, contact: Assistant Director of Customer,
The Equality Impact Assessment completed
· Data Protection and Privacy, contact: information.governance@york.gov.uk
· Communications, contact: Head of Communications.
We'll look at how best to use communications support to help the organisation deliver the strategy. Being able to articulate a clear vision and clearly defined priorities will directly benefit our work with partners and service users. Individual elements of the strategy may benefit from targeted support, in terms of people knowing about a particular element of the work or to encourage people to take a particular action.
· Economy, contact: Head of City Development.
The strategy sets out a clear approach to Adult Social Care following significant engagement which is welcomed. An effective approach to Adult Social Care is a critical component of any thriving economy, including key relationships to a workforce health and underlying socio-economic stability. The strategy is welcomed in these respects.
Risks and Mitigations
40. There are no known risks in developing the strategy, consultation was across a wide range of users of Adult Social Care, partners and staff.
41. There are risks across both the Adult Social Care Improvement Programme and the areas identified for improvement through the Care Quality Care assessment. However, significant progress has been made in mitigating several of the highest-priority risks through strengthened oversight, governance arrangements and targeted improvement activity. Key areas of progress include:
a. Safeguarding Oversight: All Care Quality Commission high-priority recommendations were immediately identified and prioritised. Clear oversight now in place, strengthened Front Door model, new screening and authorisation processes, and improved out‑of‑hours arrangements.
b. Safeguarding practice strengthened: triage moved to safeguarding team, new practice development lead in post, improved audit processes, and evidence that decision making is sound.
c. Waiting list risk now understood and actively managed: Live risk reporting, prioritisation, performance clinics, and procurement of external capacity to clear backlogs.
d. Hospital discharge safer and more coordinated: Daily Multi-Disciplinary Team escalation meetings in place and shared discharge pathways.
e. Demand Management: Strengthened front door in place to manage demand.
f. Market Capacity: Market-shaping activity is underway to develop and expand local provision. This includes engagement with care providers and housing partners, alongside the development of a supported living workstream to increase capacity and improve choice for residents.
Wards Impacted
42. All wards
Contact details
For further information please contact the authors of this Decision Report.
Author
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Name: |
Gurdish Sandhu |
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Job Title: |
Assistant Director Improvement (interim) |
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Service Area: |
Adults Social Care & Integration |
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Telephone: |
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Report approved: |
Yes |
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Date: |
28/08/26 |
Co-author
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Name: |
Sara Storey |
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Job Title: |
Corporate Director – Adult Social Care and Integration |
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Service Area: |
Adults Social Care & Integration |
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Telephone: |
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Report approved: |
Yes |
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Date: |
28/08/26 |
Background papers
All relevant background papers must be listed.
A ‘background paper’ is any document which, in the Chief Officer’s opinion, discloses any facts on which the report is based, and which has been relied upon to a material extent in preparing the report. See page 5:3:2 of The Constitution.
Annexes
All annexes to the Decision Report must be listed.
Background paper: Adult Social Care Strategy
Annex A: Adult Social Care Strategy Delivery Plan (Draft)