Decision details

Proposed decision:

To adopt the Adult Social Care Prevention Framework 2025-2035

Reason for the decision

Even though the authority has several activities which offer different types of preventative support (primary prevention, secondary prevention and tertiary prevention), the approach is not codified in a single document. The development of the Prevention Framework is intended to satisfy these objectives and to express our ambitions clearly in respect of the fundamental statutory requirements of the Care Act 2014, and the Care and support statutory guidance.

Background – Provide brief additional context

The Government acknowledges through its five Missions and the Cassey Commission that Adult Social Care in England is facing unprecedented challenges due to rising demand, increased costs of care and support and budget pressures. Adopting a prevention-first approach has emerged as a one of the sustainable solutions, helping people live independently while easing the financial strain on local authorities, benefiting both residents and providers. The plethora of recent reports on prevention such as Future of Prevention Programme Interim Report and https://www.local.gov.uk/publications/earlier-action-and-support-case-prevention-adult-social-care-and-beyond underlines this fact.

We have worked collaboratively with Kent Analytics and the Kent Public Health Observatory to adopt a robust data collection and analysis approach. By leveraging the Kent and Medway Care Record (KMCR) and the Johns Hopkins Risk Stratification Tool, we have gained valuable insights into how people who draw on care and support may transition between different levels of need. This has enabled us to identify key drivers of demand and explore projections to understand how these may evolve over the next ten years, and gain insight into how we sustainably meet that growing and changing demand.

The Framework has been co-designed in collaboration with Voluntary Community Sector Enterprise (VCSE), Kent residents and system partners and reflects a shared commitment to preventative working. It will serve as a practical tool to support the design, planning, and delivery of preventative initiatives over a ten-year period. The Framework will be reviewed on a regular basis, to ensure it remains relevant and responsive to emerging needs.

The Framework aligns with key strategies that prioritise prevention, early intervention, and community-based support. These include Making a Difference Every Day, the Kent Adult Carers’ Strategy, and the Kent and Medway Integrated Care Strategy, as well as Framing Kent’s Future, Securing Kent’s Future, the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment, Social Prescribing, Commissioning Intentions, and the Civil Society Strategy. Together, these strategies support a shift towards proactive, preventative approaches that reduce demand, promote wellbeing, and help people remain independent for longer.

Options (other options considered but discarded)

It was discussed and agreed by the Corporate Management Team on 24 September 2024 that the Framework would be an Adult Social Care document, rather than Council-wide.

If we follow a ‘do nothing’ approach to alter the trajectory of the need for care and assume costs remain at 2024 levels, then by 2035 the costs associated with meeting the needs of the over 65 population alone, will rise by at least 48%.

How the proposed decision supports the Framing Kent's Future - Our Council Strategy 2022-2026

This proposed decision is aligned with Priority 4 within the Strategic Statement to work within the system to ensure a strong focus on preventative community services, building a strong strategic relationship with the social sector in Kent and their role in supporting a system-wide focus on prevention.

How the proposed decision supports Securing Kent’s Future 2022 -2026: Securing Kents Future - Budget Recovery Strategy.pdf

The proposed decision supports securing Kent's future by delivering service transformation opportunities to identify risk in the population and design effective preventative interventions before needs develop and people present with multiple complex needs, which drives significant increase in cost of placements. Whilst this may reduce demand for social care, it also has the potential to reduce demand to health services, including hospitals, which then will reduce the risk of inappropriate placement decisions through the hospital discharge pathway.

As Cabinet Member for Social Care and Public Health, I agree to:

a)       ADOPT the Adult Social Care Prevention Framework 2025-2035; and

b)       DELEGATE authority to the Corporate Director Adult Social Care and Health to refresh and/or make revisions as appropriate during the lifetime of the Framework and to take relevant actions, including but not limited to finalising the terms and entering into required contract or other legal agreements, as necessary to implement the objectives of the Framework.