Agenda item

Report of the Assistant Director of Commissioning, Performance and Transformation

The Assistant Director, Commissioning, Performance and Transformation, submitted a report (previously circulated) on the Shared Lives model of support to provide an overview of the new service offer in Darlington. The introduction to this report depicted what Shared Lives is as a service and what the service offers in practice.

The report outlined how the Council had conducted a Homecare and Supported Living re-tender exercise in 2024, and how this exercise has resulted in a new Shared Lives service being established as a result to develop a robust Shared Lives offer in Darlington. The Assistant Director, Commissioning, Performance and Transformation, reinforced the area’s encouragement upon the community to utilise spare rooms to provide care, with those who engage being provided with full training.

Members commented upon the increasing trend of family members moving away from individuals in receipt of Adult Social Care, and how this has affected the strain on the service area. The Assistant Director, Commissioning, Performance and Transformation, shared this sentiment. Additionally, members questioned whether the offer of the Shared Lives service would result in an uptake in both recipients of the service and providers of care, to which the Assistant Director, Adults, responded by stating that there is no guarantee, and this trend will be evaluated as the service is deployed.

RESOLVED – That the contents of this report be noted.