The Caring Sub-Committee is scheduled to meet to discuss the Care Quality Commission (CQC) assessment and improvement plan, and quality monitoring of commissioned services in North Tyneside. The committee will also look at its work programme for the 2025-2026 municipal year.

Care Quality Commission (CQC) Assessment and Improvement Plan

The sub-committee will be provided with an overview of the key findings from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) assessment of North Tyneside Council's delivery of its statutory duties under the Care Act 2014, and the improvement plan developed by the Adult Social Care service in response.

The Care Act 2014 sets out how local authorities should arrange social care for adults with care needs, and their carers.

The report pack states that in spring 2023, the CQC commenced formal assessments of local authorities' fulfilment of their duties under the Care Act 2014, and North Tyneside Council received notification of its inspection in September 2024, with the on-site visit taking place in February 2025. The inspection report was then published on 17 July 2025.

The council received an overall rating of 'Good', which was derived from scores awarded across nine quality statements:

• Assessing needs - Shows some shortfalls
• Supporting people to lead healthier lives - Shows some shortfalls
• Equity in experiences and outcomes - Good standard
• Care provision, integration and continuity - Good standard
• Partnerships and communities - Good standard
• Safe pathways, systems and transitions - Shows some shortfalls
• Safeguarding - Shows some shortfalls
• Governance, management and sustainability - Good standard
• Learning, improvement and innovation - Good standard

The report pack states that the primary strengths identified by the regulator were:

• Strong strategic relationships with partners
• Good understanding of population needs and safeguarding trends
• Low delayed transfers of care following hospital discharge
• Good prevention and early intervention services
• Consistent approaches to prioritising referrals and managing risk whilst waiting for social care intervention
• Strong leadership, with a culture of continuous learning and improvement, and co-production with people with lived experience

The key areas for improvement were:

• Timeliness of social care and occupational therapy assessments, reviews, and safeguarding enquiries
• Coordination of transitions between teams and services
• In-borough provision for people with more complex needs
• Accessibility of respite support
• Use of data at operational levels

The improvement plan is structured in line with the CQC's quality statements, cross-referenced with the existing priorities contained within the Adult Social Care Strategy 2025-26. Key objectives are identified, along with performance indicators, and the Head of Service identified to act as project sponsor. Strategic oversight will be provided via quarterly reporting to the Director of Adult Services and Lead Member for Adult Social Care, with updates provided to relevant partnership boards.

Quality Monitoring of Commissioned Services in North Tyneside

The sub-committee will receive a report that sets out North Tyneside Council's current approach to quality monitoring in Adult Social Care, highlights national expectations and statutory duties, and outlines a priority for 2025/26 to strengthen and formalise these arrangements through a new Quality Monitoring Framework.

The report pack states that North Tyneside spends over £120m gross (£58m net) on services to support vulnerable adults. Ensuring these services are safe, high-quality, and provide value for money is central to the council's commissioning responsibilities.

The council has a strong approach to quality monitoring, combining regulatory oversight, contractual compliance, and proactive engagement with providers. However, the priority for this year is to develop a consistent, evidence-based Quality Monitoring Framework that strengthens accountability, increases use of data, and ensures earlier identification of risks.

Under the Care Act 2014, the council has a duty to:

• Promote wellbeing of adults in need of care and support, and their carers
• Ensure a sustainable and diverse care market, including oversight of quality and financial viability of providers (Market Shaping Duty)
• Meet eligible needs for care and support, ensuring services are safe, effective, and person-centred
• Monitor and oversee provider performance and respond to market failure, safeguarding individuals where quality and safety are at risk
• Provide information and advice so residents can make informed choices about care

The council's existing approach includes:

• Procurement-stage assurance quality checks in tendering
• CQC oversight
• Quality monitoring visits
• Performance monitoring
• Safeguarding
• Service user and carer voice
• Link Commissioning Officers
• Multi-agency intelligence sharing
• Provider support
• Risk assessment
• Contingency planning

The report pack states that there are several areas where the quality monitoring approach needs strengthening:

• Data & Digital: Data is collected but not routinely shared or triangulated with safeguarding, complaints, workforce, and other intelligence.
• Feedback: Service user, professional, and family feedback needs to be improved and applied more consistently across services.
• Risk-based monitoring: Annual visits are carried out, but a tiered, proportionate approach to high- and low-risk providers is not fully embedded.
• Market oversight: Monitoring of provider sustainability is not consistently built into routine assurance.
• Provider support: Support is often reactive; a more preventative model is needed to strengthen quality before problems escalate.
• Transparency: Reporting is fragmented, with limited visibility for routine analysis.
• Alignment: Monitoring tools have not been reviewed recently to ensure they reflect the CQC's assurance framework.

The report also includes information on the council's procurement plan and approach to quality and value for money, and the serious provider concern process.

Work Programme 2025-2026

The sub-committee will discuss its work programme for the 2025-2026 municipal year. The report pack includes a scrutiny topic suggestion sheet, the current work programme, the sub-committee's terms of reference, and scrutiny support arrangements.

The current work programme includes the following agenda items:

• Adult Social Care Strategy
• Work Programme and Terms of Reference
• CQC Report & Action Plan
• Update on Quality Monitoring
• Neighbourhood Health
• Innovative Technology
• Annual Scrutiny Report 2025/26
• Care Quality Account

Other potential work ideas include:

• Drug and Alcohol Treatment
• Look at Statutory Obligations and Policy Priorities
• Innovative Technology to Improve Commissioning
• How North Tyneside Works with the community and Voluntary Sector
• Adult Social Care Complaints
• Tobacco and Vape Bill

The Caring Sub-committee's terms of reference include scrutinising budget monitoring and performance management information, contributing to the decision making process by examining key policy issues, conducting in-depth investigations, involving communities in its work, and monitoring the impact of its reports and recommendations on service improvement.