Purpose

The Health and Care Act 2022 endowed the Care
Quality Commission (CQC) with new powers to evaluate how Local
Authorities fulfil their responsibilities under Part 1 of the Care
Act 2014. The CQC Local Authority Assessment Framework reviews the
performance of Local Authorities to ensure that both the CQC and
the Department of Health and Social Care are satisfied with the
quality of care in the area and to identify any necessary
improvements. From April 2024 to September 2024, B&NES
underwent its CQC Local Authority Assessment, and the CQC published
their report for B&NES on 30th January 2025, assigning a rating
of Requires Improvement.

The Adult Social Care Improvement Plan highlights the progress
already made and outlines the steps being taken to further enhance
our services. It reflects our self-assessment of priority areas for
improvement, alongside the key findings and areas for improvement
against quality statement scores from the CQC Local Authority
Assessment Report for B&NES. The nine priorities in the ASC
Improvement Plan align national expectations with local needs,
driving forward a shared vision for a more responsive, effective,
and sustainable Adult Social Care service that delivers better
outcomes for the B&NES population who rely on adult social care
support.

This report will outline the progress made towards the ASC
Improvement Plan, alongside the key activities that the ASC
Leadership Team is undertaking to enable sustainable
improvement.

Decision

(1) 
To note the summary of progress towards the Adult Social Care
Improvement Plan which highlights the main themes and action for
achieving a Good CQC rating.
 
(2) 
To agree that a further update report on the progress against the
ASC Improvement Plan is submitted to Cabinet in May 2026.

Reasons for the decision

The Adult Social Care (ASC) Improvement Plan
is aligned to specific CQC feedback and structured according to the
CQC Local Authority Assessment themes, ensuring a clear and
systematic approach to addressing identified improvement
priorities.
 
The ASC Improvement Plan is making steady
progress.  Significant advancements have
been achieved, with actions tracked through the monthly Improvement
Board meetings and project oversight through robust highlight
reporting including RAG rating on overall progress.  his approach ensures rigorous oversight,
constructive challenge, and shared responsibility for required
actions to achieve the desired outcomes.

Alternative options considered

As part of our annual quality assurance
process the Self-Assessment is in the process of being updated to
reflect the outcome of the CQC inspection report published in
January 2025 and reflect progress towards the ASC Improvement Plan.
The Self-Assessment report will therefore outline the progress made
by ASC from September 2024 (CQC onsite inspection) to September
2025. Once finalised the Self-Assessment 2024/25 will be
published.