Agenda item

Director of Community and Children’s Services

The Board noted the update on the implementation of the new Care Act and the current position of the Better Care Fund.

Officers informed Members that the Care Act received Royal Assent in May 2014 and introduced wide-ranging and significant reform to the adult social care system. It aimed to create a modern system that could keep pace with the demands of a growing ageing population and was clear to people about what kind of care they can expect. It was designed to focus on people’s strengths and capabilities, supporting them to live independently for as long as possible. The Act also introduced significant funding reform with the introduction of a cap on the amount people had to

spend on their care, regardless of how much they had in savings or assets.

Many of the provisions of the Act came into force in April 2015, with the

remaining, mainly related to funding reform, coming into force in April 2016.

Members noted that in June 2013 the Government launched the Better Care Fund, a pooled budget, to help integrate health and social care services at a local level.

Integration aims to reduce the stress and resultant cost on acute health

services and is a key element of the Care Act. The City of London submitted a

bid to the fund in April this year and, following some recent changes to the

fund, bids will now be resubmitted. The target date for implementation of the

Better Care Fund plans was April 2015.

The Care Act had significant implications for local authorities around practice,

finance and systems. A specific project to implement the Act had been set up to

ensure that the City of London was compliant with the Act. An Implementation

Group was meeting monthly to oversee this with the Adult Wellbeing Partnership,

chaired by the Director of Community and Children’s Services, being

accountable for the project.