White paper likely to include outcomes

The adult green paper’s outcomes framework is almost certain to be in the forthcoming white paper on health and social care, care services minister Liam Byrne has said.

The framework, which set outcomes on health, quality of life, exercising choice, freedom from discrimination and harassment, economic well-being, personal dignity and making a contribution, had proved popular in the green paper consultation, Byrne said. 

He added: “It’s highly likely to go forward in the white paper.”

This suggests it will provide the basis for performance assessment regimes across social care and health, which would mirror arrangements in children’s services.

This week, the Department of Health announced the 19 successful bids for the first round of its partnerships for older people project, designed to test out preventive approaches to care.

Byrne said the winning bids, which will share almost £40m, had demonstrated strong partnerships between social care and health, and the capacity to make services more accessible to excluded groups.

The projects would demonstrate to health leaders the benefits of social care in saving them money, encouraging the transfer of NHS resources into preventive services, said Byrne.