The Adult Social Care and Communities Scrutiny Committee of Gloucestershire Council met on Tuesday 12 May 2026. The meeting's agenda included updates on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) Improvement Plan for Adult Social Care, performance reports, and an overview of Adult Social Care services. Discussions were also scheduled regarding Public Health initiatives and the committee's work plan.

Adult Social Care CQC Improvement Plan

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on the Adult Social Care CQC Improvement Plan. This plan is a response to the CQC's Local Authority Assessment of Adult Social Care Services in Gloucestershire, which resulted in a rating of Requires Improvement in January 2025. The report was set to detail progress in key improvement areas, including reductions in waiting times for assessments and brokerage, strengthened practice quality, and improved safeguarding outcomes. It was also intended to outline remaining priorities, such as embedding consistent evidence of impact, completing the transition of delegated functions, and strengthening equity and co-production. Principal risks identified included capacity and demand volatility, partner dependencies, provider market pressures, and the potential impact of wider local government reorganisation. The CQC's framework for assessing local authorities focuses on four themes: Working with People, Providing Support, Keeping People Safe, and Leadership, with specific quality statements under each. The plan aims to address the CQC's findings by focusing on evidence of impact, delegated functions, safeguarding, and governance.

Adult Social Care Update

An overview of matters relating to the delivery of Adult Social Care in Gloucestershire was scheduled for discussion. This included an update on the Transformation of Adult Social Care Programme and Technology Enabled Care (TEC) systems. TEC, which uses technology to help individuals live safely and independently, has been delivered by Careium since September 2025, with a majority of users now transitioned to digital services. A TEC Implementation Change Lead has been appointed to strengthen governance and address areas for improvement. The report was also to cover the return of delegated Adult Social Care functions from Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust (GHC) back to Gloucestershire County Council (GCC). This includes Mental Health Social Work, Occupational Therapy, Community Reablement, and Mental Health Supported Accommodation, with phased transition programmes underway. Additionally, the update was to highlight an Adult Social Care Operations Celebration Event held on 24 April 2026, which recognised the impact of staff work and showcased innovation, including a virtual reality training programme for social work students.

Public Health Update

The committee was set to receive an update on matters relating to Public Health and the delivery of health and wellbeing services in Gloucestershire. This included information on the recommissioning of a suicide bereavement service, which will run from April 2026 to 2029, providing support to individuals and families affected by suicide. The update was also to cover the Good Food Local benchmarking exercise, where Gloucestershire achieved a score of 60%, with identified opportunities to strengthen public awareness and community-led food initiatives. The launch of Gloucestershire's Food Map, a resource listing over 115 community food organisations, was also to be discussed. Furthermore, the committee was to be informed about a national consultation on reforming School Food Standards, which aims to increase fruit and vegetable intake and limit unhealthy foods. Updates on Weight Wise pilots, a new adult weight management model, and the allocation of gambling funding for a local prevention programme were also on the agenda. Finally, information on substance use funding for drug and alcohol treatment services and the Director of Public Health's 2025 report, Home is where our health is, focusing on the impact of housing on health and wellbeing, were to be presented.

Work Plan Review

The committee was scheduled to review its work plan for 2025-26. This involved reviewing the committee's work over the past year, including any outstanding actions, and considering items for future monitoring. The dates of future meetings were to be noted, and suggestions for items to be included on the committee's work plan were to be discussed. Members were asked to consider the reasons for and expected benefits of scrutiny involvement, categorising items as Overview, Scrutiny, or Information. Potential future agenda items suggested included social care provision for adults of working age, a prevention strategy for adults of working age, transitions from children's to adult social care, adult social care support for hospital discharge, and a review of delegated functions.