The Adult Care Services Cabinet Panel met on Tuesday 14 April 2026 to discuss the progress of the Connect and Prevent programme, review the Adult Care Services Local Account, and consider a motion regarding the Hertfordshire Carers Strategy. Key decisions included noting the successes of Phase 1 of the Connect and Prevent programme and endorsing the Adult Care Services Local Account for publication.

Connect and Prevent Phase 1 Update

The panel received an update on Phase 1 of the Connect and Prevent programme, a major transformation initiative within Adult Care Services. This phase, which focused on prevention and enabling residents to achieve greater independence, has shown significant positive impacts. The programme has been divided into five workstreams: Progressive Reviews and Preventative Transitions (aligned with Adult Disability Services), and Proactive Prevention, Community Connections, and Effective Enablement (aligned with older people's services).

Phase 1 has supported approximately 40 young people with goal-based support plans to transition into adulthood and around 2,000 people towards greater independence through collaborative reviews. A new carers' hub has been created, proactively reaching out to around 300 carers. Additionally, effective enablement and community connections workstreams have supported approximately 750 more people per year.

Crucially, the programme has delivered substantial financial benefits, with an estimated annualised run rate between £23.8 million and £30.5 million, exceeding the initial target of £24.8 million. In-year savings for 2025/26 were over £10.6 million against a target of £8 million. The Effective Enablement workstream, in particular, has seen significant success through the development and deployment of a reablement app, which allows for real-time tracking of residents' progress towards independence. This has led to a reduction in the average number of days individuals require reablement support, freeing up capacity to help more people.

The panel was informed that Phase 2 of the Connect and Prevent programme is now underway, building on the successes of Phase 1 and aiming for further savings.

Adult Care Services Local Account

Alex Ogle, ACS Performance and Improvement Manager, presented the Adult Care Services Local Account for 2025. This report provides a public overview of the services' performance, achievements, challenges, and areas for improvement between April 2024 and September 2025. The Local Account bridges the end of the previous ACS Plan (2021-2025) and looks ahead to the priorities of the new plan.

The report highlighted that Adult Care Services supports over 40,000 adults annually and received a Good rating from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in eight out of nine areas inspected, with partnership working rated as Outstanding. The account detailed key statistics, including 78,333 requests for support and 29,498 reviews completed in the last 12 months. It also presented survey results, indicating high levels of satisfaction with care and support, though it noted ongoing challenges with social contact and loneliness.

The Local Account detailed progress against the 2021-2025 ACS Plan across five themes: Communication and Relationships, Maintaining Wellbeing, Providing Care and Support, Supporting Unpaid Carers, and Organisations Working Together. Key achievements included the expansion of the Hertfordshire Directory, the development of new strategies for various needs (dementia, autism, physical disability, carers), and significant investment in the voluntary and community sector. The report also outlined the financial overview, with a budget of £518.5 million for 2025/26, and provided a national performance comparison against the Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework (ASCOF).

The panel noted the report and discussed areas for improvement, including the need for more comparative data on previous years' performance and the inclusion of more detailed links within the summary.

Motion Regarding the Hertfordshire Carers Strategy

Councillor Tony Kingsbury moved a motion calling for a report on areas where future support for unpaid carers in Hertfordshire could be strengthened or better understood. The motion highlighted the vital contribution of unpaid carers and acknowledged the county's comparatively strong support offer, while seeking to identify opportunities for further improvement.

The report, presented by Tim Napper, Senior Development Manager, addressed the points raised in the motion, aligning them with the recently refreshed Hertfordshire Carers Strategy (2026-2028). The strategy, developed through extensive co-production with carers, focuses on five key outcomes: being informed, having a life beyond caring, maintaining health and wellbeing, receiving consistent, joined-up services, and being safe.

The report discussed the scale of hidden carers, with an estimated 92,800 carers in Hertfordshire according to the 2021 Census, and acknowledged barriers to accessing support, such as not identifying as a carer or a lack of awareness of available services. The refreshed strategy includes actions to address these issues through public communications, staff training, and the Proactive Prevention project using AI to identify carers.

Challenges at transition points, including young carers moving into adulthood and the end of caring roles, were also addressed. The strategy includes work on supporting young carers and parent carers, and planning for when carers are no longer able to care. Opportunities to improve workplace and education support for unpaid carers were also highlighted, with ongoing work with schools, further education providers, and employers. The report also touched upon national initiatives for recognising carers' skills and supporting their voluntary access to training or employment in the social care workforce.

The panel expressed strong support for the motion and the refreshed strategy, with discussions focusing on the importance of recognizing carers' skills, the challenges of balancing caring with employment, and the need for consistent implementation of policies. The report confirmed that the strategy and its action plan would be delivered within existing resources and would be subject to ongoing review and updates to the panel.