Adult Social Care

Delivery Plan

2026

DRAFT FOR DISCUSSION –

People Scrutiny Committee 26 October 2026

Introduction

The ASC strategy was co-produced during 2025 through extensive engagement and consultation with people who draw on care and support, unpaid care, residents, staff and partners.   In December 2025, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) published its assessment of the Council’s adult social care functions. 

The Delivery Plan provides the overarching framework for delivery of the Strategy.  It brings together the improvement workstreams, financial sustainability and key enabling priorities, informed by the CQC assessment and Improvement Board activity.

Summary of the Strategy

The strategy sets out a clear vision that everyone in York should be able to live well, with access to the right care and support when it is needed.  It promotes a strengths-based approach, independence, dignity, and choice, working collaboratively with people with lived experience and partners; valuing unpaid carers; and supporting the workforce.  Its priorities include prevention, housing, technology, best value, improved data, partnership working and safe and timely transitions from hospital to home.

Context for the ASC Delivery Plan  

The strategy sits within a challenging and rapidly changing context for adult social care in York, shaped by rising demand, financial pressures, and the need to improve outcomes and experiences.

Adult Social Care is experiencing rising and increasingly complex demand alongside significant financial and workforce pressures.  This requires a continued focus on prevention and independence, consistent and high-quality practice, effective commissioning, partnership working and better use of data and technology.  the Delivery Plan brings this activity together to support improved outcomes, manage demand and provide a clearer route towards financial sustainability.

Adult Social Care Strategy Delivery Framework

Adult Social Care Improvement Programme Workstreams

The overarching Adult Social Care Strategy Delivery Plan translates the Strategy’s vision and priorities into coordinated activity and outcomes.  It brings together the financial sustainability and improvement workstreams; early intervention and prevention, practice improvement, market intervention, supported housing, and leadership, workforce and culture. The workstreams are supported by key enabling priorities and include relevant activity delivered through the Adult Social Care savings delivery plans.

Programme Governance and Accountability

The Corporate Director of Adult Social Care and Integration has overall accountability for delivery of the Adult Social Care Strategy.  The Improvement Board provides oversight and assurance across the financial sustainability and improvement workstreams, with designated workstreams leads accountable for delivery.  Programme management, performance and financial support will enable consistent monitoring of activity and milestones, measures, risks and dependencies, with matters escalated through the appropriate Council governance arrangements.

Governance and Assurance

The governance structure provides oversight, assurance and escalation across the Adult Social Care Improvement Programme.  Financial sustainability, delivery, progress, performance, risks and dependencies and outcomes will be monitored through each level of governance, with assurance provided to the Adult Social Care Improvement Board.

Workstream Delivery

The following sections set out the intended outcomes, grounded in what matters most to people who draw on care and support, unpaid carers and those who work alongside them.  A focused set of Adult Social Care wide success measures and high-level impact measures for each workstream is being developed following the August Improvement Board workshop.  These will demonstrate whether activity is improving people’s experience and outcomes, alongside performance and financial sustainability.  More detailed operational measures will be maintained within the supporting workstream and project plans.

The table below sets out the expected outcomes for each workstream. A focused set of high-level success measures will be developed with workstreams and informed by what matters most to people, existing performance information and the August Improvement Board workshop.  The measures will be baselined and agreed through the Improvement Board process.

Workstream	Expected Outcome	Areas for success – measures development
Early Intervention and Prevention	People receive the right support early, helping them remain independent, building on their strengths, and preventing delaying crisis and the need for long-term care.	Access to the right support first time; impact of prevention and early help; independence and reduced demand for long-term care; experience of people and unpaid carers.
Practice Improvement	People experience consistent, proportionate and strengths-based practice that promotes independence and involves them in decisions about their care and support.	Timeliness of assessments, reviews and safeguarding responses; quality and consistency of strengths-based practice, people feeling safe, listened to and involved.
Market Intervention	People can choose good-quality, sustainable local care and support that meets their needs.	Local capacity and market stability; provider quality and compliance; choice, access and value for money.
Supported Housing	People can access suitable housing and support that promotes independence and reduces reliance on more restrictive forms of care.	Availability and effective use of supported housing; independence and reduced reliance on residential care; quality and people’s experience.
Leadership, Workforce and Culture	People receive consistent, high-quality support from a skilled, stable and valued workforce, underpinned by effective leadership.	Leadership and workforce stability and capability, and workforce culture and wellbeing; continuing and quality of support.
Financial Sustainability and Medium-Term Financial Plan	Adult Social Care delivers improved outcomes while managing demand and cost pressures and delivering agreed savings.	Delivery of savings and budget position; demand and cost drivers; financial benefits, and outcomes and value achieved

Each Workstream will develop and agree ‘headline’ success measures, supported by detailed operational measures where required.  The success measures will focus on impact and what matters most to people.

Financial Sustainability

Financial sustainability is a cross-cutting priority across all five improvement workstreams.  Adult Social Care savings delivery plans are aligned to the relevant workstream activity, with improvements primarily focused on better outcomes while also delivering financial benefits.

Financial oversight will include demand and cost drivers, benchmarking, modelling and forecasting, benefits and savings tracking, and strengthen financial controls. Delivery progress, risks and financial impact will be monitored through established programme and financial governance.

Workforce Stabilisation

There is an immediate priority to stabilise the senior leadership capacity in Adult Social Care. This includes permanent recruitment to leadership and operational roles, strengthening induction and development, supporting workforce wellbeing and retention, and ensuring that capacity and capability are aligned with demand.

The detailed phased approach to recruitment is set out in the Adult Social Care Resource Plan.

Resourcing and Capacity

Investment has been identified to provide the capacity and capability required to deliver the Adult Social Care Improvement Programme.  This includes leadership and operational capacity, enabling support, programme and performance management, co-production and communications, and targeted specialist support.

The Resource Plan will be reviewed alongside the Delivery Plan to ensure resources remain aligned to priority improvements, sequencing and delivery requirements. Some areas of investment will also support delivery of financial benefits through the aligned Adult Social Care savings delivery plans.

Co-production, Engagement and Experience

Resident and carer experience will inform the continued development and delivery of the programme. This will include feedback on timeliness, communication and outcomes, alongside clearer alignment with the Carers Strategy and evidence of how carers’ voices are shaping improvement.

Workstream delivery plans will identify where activity is to be co-produced and how feedback and lived experience will be used alongside performance, quality and financial information to assess impact.

Cross-cutting Enablers and Assurance

Digital transformation, including Mosaic optimisation, self-service opportunities and the assistive technology roadmap, will support sustainable service improvement across the programme.

Market position, provider stability and potential hand-back risks will be monitored through the Market Intervention workstream. Workforce wellbeing and retention will be addressed through the Leadership, Workforce and Culture workstream.

Key dependencies, including leadership recruitment, commissioning capacity, digital improvements, corporate and external support, and the sequencing of change will be identified and monitored through programme governance to support realistic planning and confidence in delivery.