Purpose of this document
A voluntary framework for councils to use to self-assess local activity which supports implementation of the Care Act.
We anticipate the main audience is council programme managers, service managers and those otherwise involved in change management locally.
Use of the readiness self-assessment template is completely optional.
How might self-assessment be useful for your council and regionally?
We hope that councils will find this self-assessment tool a useful means to:
o Stimulate strategic discussions, internal challenge and a review of existing plans
o Map and measure progress leading to implementation
o Identify areas where more work needs to be done
o Identify opportunities for sharing learning with other councils
o Form the basis for a discussion with Directors’, regional social care reform leads and LGA and DH regional advisers to identify how best to target regional support
o Identify areas for regional work to assist with particular common challenges
Format of the framework
The framework is modular, and covers the majority of the Act’s reforms and key supporting activity. The format is based on previous personalisation assessment tools, and the content draws on work by the LGYH ADASS region, a number of councils’ implementation plans from around the country, and the LGA’s adult social care peer challenge model. It has been revised following discussions with regional programme managers from around the country.
How to use the assessment framework
· Each section can be completed on its own, or as part of an overall evaluation of progress. It details a number of key requirements for success, and lists suggested tasks in the form of questions for local areas to consider.
· Text boxes are included to be overwritten with a local assessment of progress and follow-up actions. There is also a column with links to relevant practice and support resources.
· Activate the links by holding ‘Ctrl’ and clicking.
· Local Care Act leads may wish to review the document and use sections as a starting point for discussion with work-stream / service leads. You should consider the document alongside local plans and the final regulations and statutory guidance for April 2015.
Sections 1 – 5 set out the impact of the changes and where work will be necessary in a number of ‘enabling’ areas. It invites councils to self-assess their progress against several key milestones.
Programme Management and Governance / Workforce / Understanding costs / Informatics and Systems / Public awareness / Preparing for 2016/17 reformsSections 6 – 16 follow the chapters of the statutory guidance and provide a short summary of the changes and likely impact, ‘I’ statements to use to test local progress and plans, and asks councils to consider their progress against a number of the tasks necessary to be Care Act compliant and to fully achieve the aspirations of the reforms.
· General duties -Prevention / · Person-centred care and support planning· General duties - Information and Advice / · Integration, cooperation and partnerships
· General duties - Commissioning / · Transition
· First contact and identifying needs / · Safeguarding
· Charging and financial assessment / · Ordinary residence, continuity of care and cross-border placements
What should I do with the work once completed? Will the joint programme office use this?
Should you wish to share the results regionally or nationally, the detail you provide will inform national timescales for development of policy and support, and also inform our integrated programme plan. It is likely that we will pub lish more detailed sections on Appeals and preparing for funding reform once more detail about the regulations and guidance is available.
You may wish to revisit the document in light of completion of your council’s return for the second stocktake and again in January and March 2015. The framework is designed to be printed in A3 or A4, section-by-section.
Care Act implementation – self-assessment framework /Programme management and governance
Policy change and local challenge / · The Care Act and associated reforms are the most wide-ranging set of changes to adult social care law in over 40 years. It is essential that councils and their partners (in provider, health and community and voluntary organisations) are able to make these aspirations a reality by reshaping how social care is provided in advance of April 2015.Statutory requirements / · The Care Act 2014 became law on 15 May 2014.
· Sections 15, 16, 18(3), 28, 29 and 72 will take effect from April 2016; the remainder will take effect from April 2015.
Key milestones / Clear and shared understanding amongst senior council management and politicians about what needs to change locally and the business models that will be adopted
Essential from September 2014 / Impact monitoring and self-assessment
Agreed and active from April 2015 / Appropriate user involvement in service design
Ongoing / From March 2015 (for reforms effective from April 2016) / Partnership working in implementation (provider, CVS and CCG buy-in to plans)
Ongoing – April 2016
How likely is it that this milestone will be achieved by this date?
Tick as appropriate / Significant risk of delay / Significant risk of delay / Significant risk of delay / Significant risk of delay
Slippage / issues / Slippage / issues / Slippage / issues / Slippage / issues
On track / Completed / On track / Completed / On track / Completed / On track / Completed
Programme management and governance /
IMPLEMENTATION REQUIREMENT / IMPLEMENTATION TASKS
(Suggested) / CURRENT LOCAL POSITION
(use for RAG rating or for notes) / LOCAL ACTION REQUIRED?
(Suggested timetable) / COMMENT / EVIDENCE / SUPPORT AVAILABLE /
Set up programme structure and governance / · Are you clear about the timescale for the reforms, what is changing in law, and what is yet to be decided?
· Is there is a local programme / project plan for implementation with clear milestones and targets? Does this reflect dependencies between different projects within the council?
· Are named officers in place with clear accountability for individual elements of the changes?
· Do your plans acknowledge the budgetary cycles of the council? Have you included corporate finance as a key member of the programme team? / Ongoing / See the Governance and programme management: 'must knows' page on the programme office website for more information
The Care Act clause analysis webpage provides an assessment of the extent of change to policy and practice per section of the Act.
Strong political leadership and accountability / · Do your council leader and lead member understand the key risks and challenges for your council and department? Are they regularly updated on progress?
· Is your Health and Wellbeing Board (HWB) exercising its important role in collective leadership – including facilitating the system wide integration, cooperation and preventative approaches which underpin the Act?
· Are your full council membership and key corporate partners kept regularly aware of the Act and your council's plan to implement the reforms?
· Do your plans recognise when, and at what level of seniority certain decisions must be approved, and where member approval for certain policy changes is necessary? / Ongoing / The LGA’s Care Act 2014: 'must knows' for Members are a good starting point for briefing on the implementation challenge of the Act.
You may also wish to look at the LGA’s Making an impact through good governance: A practical guide for health and wellbeing boards
Business planning and service redesign / · Do you know what needs to change by when and the scale of the challenge for your council? How are you prioritising your resources?
· Is there a clear and shared understanding amongst senior council management and politicians about what needs to change and the business models that will be adopted to support implementation (e.g. approaches to deferred payments and charging)?
· Have you identified the business critical financial and IT systems? Has their ability to support implementation been evaluated and plans for development put in place where appropriate? (see Informatics)
· Is a workforce development strategy being developed or in place? Does this support your workforce’s understanding and ability to implement the reforms, and exploit the regional support and national tools available? (see Workforce) / Ongoing
Partnership working in implementation / · Are you satisfied that your local Clinical Commissioning Group(s) [CCGs] and the wider health community are appropriately involved in the arrangements related to implementation?
· Do BCF plans recognise the funding for Care Act implementation? Do you know how much of your Better Care Fund has been locally agreed to be spent in 2015/16 on the following?
o Protecting adult social care services
o Implementing the Care Bill reforms
o Investing in additional adult social care services that benefit health services
· Are your area’s care and support providers involved in the development of implementation plans? Do they understand the likely impacts of the reforms for their businesses?
· Are you working with neighbour councils, your regional ADASS network and the national Programme Management Office to share good practice and consolidate your efforts? / Ongoing / Resources and information at http://www.local.gov.uk/integration-better-care-fund
See the Regional support arrangements and activity page for work in your area and national grants
For support engaging with health colleagues and facilitating productive joint working through Health and Wellbeing Boards see the Health Systems improvement board pages at: http://www.local.gov.uk/health-and-wellbeing-boards
Appropriate user involvement in service design / · Do you have arrangements in place to actively involve service users, carers, families and the wider community in the design, development, delivery and review of innovative care and support arrangements?
· Will public consultation be required on elements of your plans?
· Are there robust plans in place to engage and involve all staff working to support the delivery of care and support in the changes? This should include staff working in provider services and third sector organisations. / From March 2015 (for reforms effective from April 2016) / TLAP are working on resources to support co-production in commissioning
For existing resources visit http://www.thinklocalactpersonal.org.uk/Browse/Co-production/
Risk & issue management in place / · Are the risks associated with your council’s plan included within corporate risk management systems?
· Does your plan acknowledge interdependencies with other local and national programmes and events e.g. Better Care Fund, budget planning and election cycles?
· Have you mapped out where equality impact assessments may be necessary, and the resources needed to complete this analysis? / Ongoing
Impact monitoring and self-assessment / · Have you planned for the upcoming national progress stocktakes and future self-assessment?
· Have you agreed how the impact of the changes on unit and total costs, quality and outcomes will be monitored?
· How will you use service user feedback to assess the impact on outcomes of the changes to your services? / Agreed and active from April 2015
Closure of work-streams and move to business as usual / · What consideration has been given to moving new processes into business as usual? When will this be appropriate?
· Can you be assured that changes to service delivery are being made in a way which will both meet immediate needs of the council and individuals from April 2015, but which also embed good practice and learning from national and regional sources in the local system.
· How will you re-deploy your implementation resources to support the reforms to social care funding, effective April 2016?
· How will you capture and ensure the transfer of knowledge gained and new ways of working developed through implementation across service teams? / From April 2015
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Care Act implementation – self-assessment framework /Understanding the cost of the Care Act in 2015/16
Policy change and role of enabling work-stream / · Increase in capital thresholds / extension to the means test providing more support to people with modest wealth.· New legal basis for charging covering both residential and non-residential care.
· New framework for eligibility with threshold to be set nationally (to be implemented in April 2015).
· People will be protected from having to sell their home in their lifetime to pay for any care home costs.
Understanding the cost impact of new duties and potential changes to demand for local authority services locally is a key first step for any implementation programme.
Key milestones and suggested completion date: / Total costs of implementing Care Act in 2015/16 established
September 2014 – November 2014 / Agreement on proportion of local Better Care Fund to spend on:
● Protecting adult social care services ● implementing the Care Bill reforms
● investing in additional adult social care services that benefit health services
October 2014 / Minimise the financial impact through service redesign and efficient resource use
October 2014 – Feb 2015 / Monitor the financial impact of the reforms
October 2014 – Feb 2015
How likely is it that this milestone will be achieved by this date?
Tick as appropriate / Significant risk of delay / Significant risk of delay / Significant risk of delay / Significant risk of delay
Slippage / issues / Slippage / issues / Slippage / issues / Slippage / issues
On track / Completed / On track / Completed / On track / Completed / On track / Completed
Understanding the cost of the Care Act in 2015/16 /
IMPLEMENTATION REQUIREMENT / IMPLEMENTATION TASKS (Suggested) / CURRENT POSITION
(use for RAG rating or for notes) / LOCAL ACTION REQUIRED? (Suggested timetable) / COMMENT / EVIDENCE / SUPPORT AVAILABLE /
Total costs of implementing Care Act in 2015/16 established / · Utilise the revised DH-ADASS version of the Lincolnshire model to calculate costs in 2015/16.
· Are you clear about the sources of funding for Care Act implementation in 2015/16?
· Do you know how much of your Better Care Fund has been locally agreed to be spent in 2015/16 on the following?
o Protecting adult social care services
o Implementing the Care Bill reforms
o Investing in additional adult social care services that benefit health services
· Do you understand how the funding for additional assessments for the cap on care costs; universal deferred payment agreements and social care in prisons will be allocated?
· Have the financial risks been understood, evaluated and communicated within the council and to partners? / September 2014 – November 2014 / Revised Lincolnshire model – Social Care Impact Analysis V5 (Excel, 67KB)
For more information please visit the Understanding the costs of reforms in 2015/16 (social care reform) webpage.
Minimise the financial impact using service redesign and efficient resource use / · Have you benchmarked key unit costs (such as cost of assessments and carers’ assessments) against your statistical neighbours? Can you draw upon best practice and new ways of working to better deliver assessments? / October 2014 – Feb 2015 / Or utilise the forthcoming update of the TEASC “Making best use of resources in adult social care – toolkit” – due November.
Monitor the financial impact of the reforms / · Do you have robust cost monitoring and reporting processes in place so increases in demand and associated cost pressures can be identified and quantified early, to allow the council to respond? / April 2015 onwards / You may wish to examine the learning from the LGA’s Adult social care efficiency programme
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