Agenda item

To receive a presentation on the quality of residential and domiciliary care in Kirklees.

Contact: Saf Bhuta – Service Director, Strategic Commissioning, Provider Services and Partnerships

The Panel received a presentation from Saf Bhuta, Service Director, Strategic Commissioning, Partnership and Provider Services, Lesley Hill, Interim Head of Service for Commissioning and Market Development, and Emma Hanley, Senior Contracting and Procurement Manager (Adult Social Care) which provided an update and assurance on provider services, quality oversight and partnership working across the adult social care market in Kirklees.

The presentation focused on system-wide quality assurance rather than individual providers and outlined how adult social care defined quality, identified when services were performing well, and responded swiftly where concerns arose.

The Panel were advised that intelligence was drawn from multiple sources including Care Quality Commission (CQC) activity, commissioning and contract monitoring, safeguarding, and frontline practitioner feedback and that quality was defined using a whole?system approach, structured around five key pillars aligned to national regulatory frameworks. Quality was not assessed by single metrics or inspection outcomes alone, but through a broad range of indicators and the important role of the CQC while making clear that the Council did not rely solely on inspection outcomes, particularly given inspection delays and historic ratings.

The Panel noted that the adult social care market continued to operate in a structurally fragile national context, characterised by persistent workforce shortages and high turnover, increasing complexity and acuity of need, ongoing financial sustainability pressures, and changes to the CQC regulatory framework.

Questions and comments were invited from Members of the Health and Social Care Scrutiny Panel, and the following was raised:

• As of January 2026, 86 community?based care providers were operating in Kirklees, supporting approximately 3,400 people, an increase from 49 providers in 2019.
• There were 126 care homes with almost 3,500 registered beds, with capacity remaining relatively stable despite a small reduction in the number of homes since 2021.
• Average reported occupancy was around 84%, indicating continuing demand alongside some capacity within the system.
• Workforce pressures remained significant locally and nationally. There was the IntoCare programme, a nationally recognised initiative providing bespoke recruitment, employability training and job?matching support to providers.

·         Quality oversight was delivered through strong multi?agency partnership arrangements,

·         Quality intelligence was drawn from a wide range of sources including safeguarding concerns, complaints and compliments, workforce data, missed or late calls, frontline social worker observations and direct feedback from service users and families.

• Provider financial pressures were addressed through regular engagement with providers and the Kirklees and Calderdale Care Association to support sustainability.
• Health system pressures, including hospital discharges and changes within the Integrated Care Board were managed through close partnership working and regional intelligence sharing via the West Yorkshire Quality Assurance Group.

• Kirklees Council did not commission services required to be CQC?registered if they were unregistered, and that robust assurance mechanisms were in place beyond inspection ratings.
• Some providers awaiting inspection were new locations of established organisations or had undergone structural changes, rather than being new or unknown providers.
• Priorities for the next 12 months, included strengthening intelligence?led quality assurance, improved thematic analysis of complaints and concerns to identify recurring issues.

RESOLVED –

1. That officers be thanked for their presentation and attendance
2. That the Panel note the robust, multi-agency framework in place for monitoring and assuring quality within adult’s social care provider services.
3. That the Panel request further information on workforce vacancy trends over time.

4.    That the Panel recommend further scrutiny on adult social care market sustainability and quality assurance at a future meeting.