Issue - meetings

Cabinet Member: Adult Social Care

Forward Plan Ref: 2015/100

Contact: Kate Terroni, Deputy Director – Joint Commissioning Tel: (01865) 815792

Report by Director for Adult Social Care (CA10).

To seek approval for the Adult Social Care Workforce Strategy.

The Adult Social Care sector in Oxfordshire is facing significant challenges with workforce capacity and capability, arising from growing demand for care and support and the increasing complexity of care and support needs.

Modelling by the Council has established that the county’s social care workforce needs to grow by up to 750 every year for the next 10 years just to keep pace with the growing numbers of people requiring care.

To address the longer term workforce issues, Oxfordshire County Council worked with stakeholders during 2014/15 to develop and produce the Oxfordshire Adult Social Care Workforce Strategy 2015/18 and draft implementation plan.

The purpose of the Workforce Strategy is to build the capacity and capability of the workforce and the implementation plan outlines practical steps to achieve this.

Cabinet is recommended to:

(a)            Endorse the Adult Social Care Workforce Strategy 2015 to 2018.

(b)            Commit to implementing the strategy delivery plan.

(c)            Request regular progress reports from the Director of Adult Social Care on progress in implementing the strategy and towards achievement of its objectives and targets.

Recommendations agreed, with the following additional recommendation:

(d) agree that the report be presented to full Council.

Cabinet considered a report seeking approval for the Adult Social Care Workforce Strategy.

Councillor Laura Price, Shadow Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care welcomed the report and commented that she would like the Council to push for national recognition of health care professionals. She highlighted the need for affordable housing to attract and keep workers. She asked that in terms of partnership working officers think innovatively about organisations such as independent unions and to utilise the Local Enterprise Partnership. She also stressed the need to involve care workers.

Councillor Heathcoat, Cabinet member for Adult Social Care responding to the points made indicated that there had been recruitment drives and they were talking to the people doing the jobs.

During discussion Cabinet noted that through the LEP there were a number of apprenticeships. The aim had to be to make it a profession that people wanted to get into.

Councillor Heathcoat introduced the contents of the report and moved the recommendations together with an additional recommendation to present the report to the next full Council meeting.

RESOLVED:           to:

(a)            endorse the Adult Social Care Workforce Strategy 2015 to 2018;

(b)            commit to implementing the strategy delivery plan;

(c)            request regular progress reports from the Director of Adult Social Care on progress in implementing the strategy and towards achievement of its objectives and targets; and

(d)      agree that the report be presented to full Council.