Staffordshire County Council: local authority assessment

The local authority had a strong partnership working culture and worked strategically with partners to agree and align strategic priorities, plans and responsibilities for people in the area. For example, the local authority’s partnership with the Staffordshire Health and Wellbeing Board and Integrated Care Board (ICB) effectively facilitated a multi-agency focus on addressing the needs of the aging population through the development of a Health Aging Plan (March 2024). This strategy aimed to draw on multidisciplinary support to promote people’s independence as they aged and reduce their need for long-term care.

There were clear leadership arrangements that facilitated partnership working, for example through multi-agency partnership boards such as the Staffordshire Health and Wellbeing Board and the local Integrated Care Board (ICB). The local authority had also established numerous partnership boards focused on key population needs such as support for disabilities, unpaid carers, and people with neurodivergent diagnoses to ensure they heard the voices of people with lived experience and used their feedback to influence strategic objectives. Staff, leaders, and providers spoke positively about partnership working within the county, including with regard to partnerships with police and community safety, housing, education and health partners.

The local authority worked in partnership with multiple system partners and agencies, and there were robust arrangements for fully integrated governance, accountability, monitoring, quality assurance, and information sharing processes. This included a long-standing Section 75 agreement between the local authority and Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (MPFT) under the NHS Act 2006, through which MPFT provided most of the local authority’s adult social care assessment and case management functions including occupational therapy services. Combining the local authority role of Assistant Director of Adult Social Care and Safeguarding with Director of Adult Social Care for MPFT ensured strong collaboration and strategic alignment between the partners and demonstrated the local authority’s innovative approach to partnership arrangements. Quality monitoring accountabilities remained with the local authority, and there were robust and embedded information sharing processes in place to allow local authority leaders to maintain oversight of adult social care performance and quality.

Other partnership arrangements included those with care providers and voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise sector (VCFSE) groups as key providers of unpaid carers’ support or support for people with complex needs. For example, arrangements between the local authority and Staffordshire Together for Carers ensured seamless provision of support for unpaid carers in collaboration with adult social care teams. Staff, leaders and partners told us roles and responsibilities regarding partnerships, inducing leadership accountabilities, were clear and established. This supported a joined-up experience for people when they accessed care and support and ensured peoples’ Care Act needs were being consistently met.

The local authority integrated or co-located aspects of its care and support functions with those provided by the NHS and by other partner agencies where this showed evidence of improved outcomes for people and was in line with best practice. For example, an integrated community occupational therapy (ICOT) team delivered effective multidisciplinary and multi-agency support to support people’s continuity of care and positive outcomes. The local authority’s integrated Discharge to Assess pathways were consistently producing positive outcomes for people leaving hospital in collaboration with health colleagues. Additionally, local authority safeguarding staff were co-located with other agencies such as heath partners and the police, which supported a coordinated and joined-up approach to keeping people safe from harm.

The local authority was actively working towards aligning other system processes to further streamline care delivery. This included developing a Housing with Care Strategy with the district and borough council housing teams which aimed to increase access to appropriate accommodation for older people with care needs and those with learning disabilities.

The local authority worked with partners to identify and use joint funding opportunities effectively to improve specific outcomes. For example, an agreement between the local authority and the local Integrated Care Board (ICB) through the Better Care Fund (BCF) enabled the local authority to source packages of care with health needs on behalf of the ICB. This increased people’s continuity of care and improved their experience and outcomes. Additionally, the BCF was used to co-produce a multi-agency All Age Carers Strategy (2024 – 2029) to support the delivery of provision that aimed to improve outcomes for unpaid carers and support them in their caring roles.

The local authority monitored and evaluated the impact of its partnership working on outcomes for people effectively. For example, staff told us the local authority’s partnership with Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (MPFT) facilitated information sharing about people who were at risk of falls residing in care homes. The local authority worked as part of a multi-agency Care Home Intensive Support Team (CHIST) which provided support for people who would otherwise likely need to be admitted to hospital. The CHIST helped improve the knowledge of care home staff around manual handling and supporting people to move around safely. This work supported continuous learning within the care sector and led to reduced risk and positive outcomes for people receiving care and support who were vulnerable to falls.

The local authority had arrangements in place to discuss and assess the effectiveness of partnerships working on the delivery of adult social care in Staffordshire. For example, multi-agency quality group meetings were held monthly to share knowledge of key issues and avoid duplication of work within the care sector. Through these forums, local authority leaders were also kept updated about potential gaps in care continuity, such as when people had to tell their story multiple times to different agencies across their care journeys.

The local authority recognised the unique contribution of the voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise sector (VCFSE) in the provision of care and support and actively promoted their involvement as equal partners. This directly benefited people in the community. For example, there was a robust partnership between the local authority and Support Staffordshire (the county’s voluntary sector infrastructure partner), through which a three-year programme to support VCFSE partners to be Learning Disability & Autism Friendly had been established. Staff regularly signposted and referred people with a range of support needs to VCFSE groups, and VCFSE partners described very positive relationships and that they were listened to by the local authority.

The local authority worked collaboratively with the VCS to understand and meet local social care needs, and it funded support opportunities to encourage growth and benefit the community. For example, a VCFSE partner told us the local authority worked with them to increase support provision for young carers, which produced positive outcomes for this unpaid carer group.