Agenda item

This report presents Medway Council’s refreshed Adult Social Care Strategy 2025 – 2028. Developed in response to increasing demand, rising complexity of need, and financial pressures, the strategy sets out a clear goal and mission to help people live safely, stay independent, and be treated with dignity and respect. It is shaped by extensive consultation and aligns with statutory duties and wider system priorities. The strategy outlines five strategic commitments and a phased delivery plan, supported by the Adult Social Care Transformation and Improvement Programme. It will guide future commissioning, investment, and service development, ensuring Adult Social Care remains responsive, inclusive, and sustainable.

Discussion:

The Assistant Director, Adult Social Care introduced the report which presented the Council’s refreshed Adult Social Care Strategy. Developed in response to increasing demand, rising complexity of need, and financial pressures, the strategy set out a clear goal and mission to help people live safely, stay independent, and be treated with dignity and respect. She explained that the timeframe indicated on the strategy at Appendix A was an error that confirmed the strategy was to cover the period 2026-28.

Members then raised a number of questions and comments, which included:

• Feedback – in response to a question it was confirmed that wording in the strategy had been amended to reflect the feedback received from consultation.
• Overspend impact – in response to a question about how the overspend on the Adult Social Care Budget would impact in the delivery of the strategy, it was confirmed that the overspend was a significant challenge as the Service was only providing statutory functions, therefore the only direct way to manage the overspend was to reduce staffing but this would have a significant negative impact on service delivery, therefore the Council was working closely with partners and providers to work more efficiently and smartly to manage spend.
• Co-Production Board – when asked who would be appointed to the Board it was confirmed this was very much still in the planning stage but that a mix of representation would be explored, including residents and community groups.
• Local Government Reform – it was explained that amendments to the strategy would be made to reflect the forthcoming local government reform. The Council had reached out to Kent County Council when developing the strategy but it had been difficult to build relationships and work with the senior staff in Adult Social Care due to recent changes in personnel.
• Support for carers – it was welcomed that the strategy included recognition of carers and the contribution they make. It was confirmed that supporting carers as well as those they care for was a statutory duty and ways to improve the offer to carers was being explored. One option was for Care First to potentially undertake carer assessments and the pros and cons of this were being explored. The Assistant Director advised that she would also look into the option of a Carers Charter.
• Sharing of information – reference was made to the importance pf people not having to repeatedly tell their story and for partners to effectively share information to reduce the need for this. The Assistant Director confirmed that this was a focus for the neighbourhood health model and would be a key requirement in its success, however there were some difficulties in the differences of the statutory returns required from local authorities which were very different to those of health partners and was a barrier that needed to be overcome.

Decision:

The Committee noted the report and recommended the Adult Social Care Strategy, as set out at Appendix A to the report, to the Cabinet for approval.