Hopes for increased social care funding for struggling local authorities have been dashed.
Social care minister Helen Whately said during a Local Government Association (LGA) webinar that councils would receive further support if they were found to be in need of improvement under new Care Quality Commission (CQC) assessments.
However, deputy director of adult social care data at the Department of Health and Social Care, Julie Laughton, said this would not mean more funding.
‘It’s about having access to tailored expertise,’ she said, adding that there would be ‘opportunities to escalate that support’.
Ms Laughton added: ‘It would have to be that the local authority could not improve for whatever reason.’
It is believed statutory intervention would only be resorted to in cases of ‘persistent failures’.
Ms Laughton admitted: ‘It’s a difficult time to introduce something new like this – we need to make sure this is helping and not making life more difficult.’
Chair of the LGA’s community wellbeing board, David Fothergill, said there was ‘angst’ and ‘serious concern’ about single-word ratings, adding: ‘It’s really difficult to reduce a complicated service down to one word.’
Ms Whately responded: ‘There will be a narrative – it’s not as simple as just a rating,’ although she conceded some people would rely on the rating alone.
She continued: ‘It’s important this is accessible and transparent to people.
‘It’s not about a stick to beat people with.
'I want to shine a light on where there’s really good practice.’
Ms Whately also said she was working with local government minister Lee Rowley on the Office for Local Government about what data it will require.
She added: ‘We are very mindful of not asking for more than is essential.'
Also answering questions at the webinar, the CQC’s chief inspector for adult social care, Kate Terroni, said assessments ‘won’t take account of financial resources allocated to social care’ and would be ‘centred on people’.
However, she added the CQC ‘will form a view nationally’ on funding.
This article was originally published by The MJ (£).
