Councils are making good overall progress in personalising adult
social care services but workforce development is lagging behind,
according to a survey published today.
Almost 93,000 people were recieving personal budgets on 31
March, and this is expected to rise to more than 200,000 by the
same time next year.
The joint survey by the Local Government Association and the
Association of Directors of Social Services found that more
than three-quarters of councils believed the development of
preventive services had significantly improved outcomes.
Workforce concerns
But the survey also showed that while nine out of 10 councils
had established teams to address the changes required, the
development of local area workforce strategies was "so far very
to assessment and care management arrangements, affecting most of
care management staff.
Private sector
The survey also found that councils perceived committment to the
Putting People First programme to be "much weaker" in the
private sector, compared with voluntary and third sector
organisations and the NHS.
Future challenges
Councils listed a number of challenges to taking Putting People
First forward including managing resources in the current economic
climate, achieving cultural change among staff, workforce planning
and developing personal assistant roles.
Response
Jeff Jerome (right), the national director for social care
transformation, said the findings showed a "positive
message".
"The survey indicates very strong progress indeed among a
significant number of councils and we are confident this will
become much more widespread over the coming year. We will be
working both regionally and nationally to ensure this," he
added.
Jenny Owen, president of Adass, said she was "delighted" that
more people were getting control of the resources of care and
support they needed.
148 out of 150 English councils responded to the survey to
measure progress in the first year of implementing Putting People
First.
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