Agenda item

Report of the Assistant Director – Adult Services

The Assistant Director – Adult Social Care submitted a report (previously circulated) to inform members on the progress in determining a revised Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework (ASCOF), and to provide an overview of Darlington’s performance against ASCOF over the past three years.

The submitted report informed Members that ASCOF was first published in March 2011, and is reviewed annually to update the measures to reflect outcomes for adults and carers. The submitted report advised that ASCOF measures how well care and support services achieve the outcomes that matter most to people, and that the ASCOF is used both locally and nationally to set priorities for care and support, measure progress and strengthen transparency and accountability. 

It was reported that performance against the ASCOF is published annually by NHS Digital, and that the Department of Health and Social Care also provides an annual report on the national picture. It was highlighted that Darlington continues to perform well against the ASCOF measures, and in most cases performs better than the North East average.

Members entered into discussion on the reduction of support required within the reablement packages; enquired about the high percentage of adults with learning disabilities in employment in Hartlepool Borough Council, and asked if the Council could learn from Hartlepool Borough Council; enquired about the low number of people requiring a reablement package when being discharged from hospital; the number of carers in receipt of direct payments and the different interpretation and approaches undertaken by other authorities to record this; and the validity and integrity of the user and carer surveys.

IT WAS AGREED: (a) That the content of the report be noted.

(b) That a further report be received by this Committee when the revised framework is published.