Introduction

Market position statements (MPS) are a crucial part of the relationship between local authorities and the care and support sector. The aim of the MPS is to help explain the market for current and potential adult care services (providers) and to identify future demand in the context of changing expectations and different models of service delivery.

Commissioners alongside providers and communities need to understand the difference between supply, availability, demand and quality compared with ‘what good looks like’ to respond to what is needed, in a timely and efficient way.

The COVID19 pandemic has brought about significant change in the care sector over a very short period of time – it is fair to say this has been unprecedented in modern times. It does, however, afford us the opportunity to reflect on what is done, why and how, as well as consider different ways of working going forward.

There is now a chance to co-produce options based on new ideas of what can work. These need to address equality and access issues particularly where there has been under-representation of some groups. Providers may have proposals for development and innovative approaches, there may also be wider strategic opportunities to embed effective approaches.

These are some of the reasons why a group of North East Local Authorities are working collaboratively in the production of their MPS’s. The intention is to set out, through market facilitation and commissioning activity, the vision for adult social care activity across their operating areas in a period of significant change in terms of the way public services are delivered.

These authorities wish to be forward thinking and outward looking in their business planning hence the creation of a self-service tool where current and potential providers can view data in a comparable format having the ability to break down the data as they deem fit, as well as viewing this within the context of services across a wider region, and not just an individual council.

Each section below has text from the participating authorities in separate tabs so you can quickly and easily obtain relevant information across the area of this group of councils. Wherever possible, interactive data tools have been provided that allow you to discover key insights across a range of topics allowing dynamic views of data, as opposed to historical paper documents.

Please Note: Each data tool is independent from the others, and from the tabbed text. You must choose appropriate filters in each tool, including which authorities you wish to view.

Introduction for Halton

Introduction:

The transformation and sustainability of Adult Social Care is a priority for Knowsley Council. Like many areas of the country, Knowsley has an ageing population with increasing numbers of people with complex care needs, which will increase the demand for and cost of Adult Social Care services. As a result of austerity, Knowsley Council had to make cuts in its budget of over £100m since 2010. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on health and care needs and has also had a profound effect on those who deliver and provide care services and support. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the government has introduced a number of changes to national legislation and guidance relating to care services, including new legislation of The Health and Care Act 2022, and the model of Adult Social Care Services and support has needed to adapt and evolve in order to continue meeting local needs and deliver a modern and progressive care model, all whilst funding for the sector has reduced significantly and remains uncertain. 

Our strategy for social care services and support in Knowsley is focused on early intervention and prevention. We need care providers to support people to maintain and regain independence through personalised approaches to enabling care. This will mean we no longer commission models of care which do not deliver these outcomes. For people with complex needs or deteriorating health conditions, our aim will be to maintain their independence for as long as possible and when they are no longer able to live independently, we will ensure that there is good quality care available to meet their needs.  

Liverpool is known nationally and internationally for its vibrancy, strong communities and the people living in them who are proud and passionate about the places they live. However, we face significant challenges around poor health and wellbeing – particularly in our most deprived communities. Our vision for a happier and healthier city can only be achieved by working to reduce health inequalities across Liverpool to improve the health of our whole population. Alongside NHS organisations and Public Health, Adult Social Care has a pivotal role to play in achieving this vision and promoting the wellbeing of adults in our city.

This Market Position Statement has been produced with providers of Adult Social Care, recipients of care services and local communities through consultation, to understand what they felt contributed to their own independence and wellbeing. This consultation will be used to inform our plans for Adult Social Care, including how we consider unpaid carers, friends and family within our service design, and how we work differently with communities and the VCSE sector to support them to maximise their impact in the places and communities they work.

The full Liverpool Market Position Statement can be found here: https://liverpool.gov.uk/media/1359868/lcc-mpsreport-2020-08-25-v12.pdf

The Sefton MPS has been developed as a market facilitation tool for existing and prospective providers and partners who may be looking to establish services in Sefton or change the way their services are provided in order to deliver the outcomes that are really needed. We want to support people in the community to have choice and control over their lives and the outcomes they can achieve. As an organization we will work with all stakeholders and across all boundaries to deliver this.

The MPS has been developed to:

■ set out our direction of travel including strategic and legislative drivers that are influencing change;
■ provide information to the social care market on population needs, service demands, commissioning priorities and resource availability, to facilitate the effective planning and development of services and opportunities to meet the needs of our residents – both now and in the future;
■ encourage understanding and provide a basis for constructive and creative dialogue with stakeholders and providers. This will be based on a clear message from us on exactly what we want and need from the market.
■ set out opportunities for market development and encourage the development of a quality adult social care market that is innovative, flexible, affordable, sustainable and diverse – offering a true choice for local people;
■ set out how providers can work in partnership with the Council to deliver change including what support is available for your business

The narrative in this market position statement is a snapshot of a moving picture, the narrative was produced in 2019/20 and we are still experiencing the impact of Coronavirus on our communities and social and healthcare providers. The needs and aspirations of our local people are not static – neither is the legislation
and guidance directing the improvement and delivery of services. There will be gaps in our knowledge of current supply, and priorities will change as services develop and provision evolves. We therefore ask that providers and partners to talk to us and encourage dialogue to help shape future services in partnership

The CCG’s combined spend in 2019/20 was £497.1 million, most of which is on acute services. There is significant potential to advance pooled budget arrangements, subject to our joint level of ambition. All current commissioned and community provided services can be found here in the Sefton Directory; https://www.seftondirectory.com/kb5/sefton/directory/home.page