Background

An Adult Social Care and Housing Commissioning strategy (ASCHCS) is a plan developed by local authorities to outline how they will meet the care and support needs of adults in their community.

The ASCHCS cuts across and aligns with a number of other offers and strategies. There is a need to ‘read across’ with other council strategies and stakeholder mapping activities. This document should be read in conjunction with The Market Position Statement.

The Market Position Statement gives an overview of:

• our place, people and adult social care workforce
• a breakdown of our market strengths and market challenges, both across Cumberland as a whole and by key service centre area
• clarity around what our care market looks like, including what services are currently delivered and whether there are any gaps or opportunities

The ASCHCS is one of the ways in which we will deliver our vision for Adult Social Care and Housing:

“People live fulfilled, healthy, independent lives in the place that they call home”.

Our vision for Adult Social Care and Housing is that we provide excellent care and create homes where people feel they truly belong. We support people to live fulfilled, healthy, and independent lives by focusing on what matters most to them and their wellbeing. By listening to people, offering real choice, and embracing new ideas, we will create housing and support that meets people’s needs and ensures everyone has a place they are happy to call home.

Alongside the ASCHCS is our 'Vision for our in-house provision, Cumberland Care' which sets out how we propose to deliver services through Cumberland Care in the future. Our aim is to focus on delivering services which maximise independence and provide more specialist and complex care.

As a recently established Council, we are in the process of developing and finalising a number of key strategies. This period of transition and growth is essential to ensure that our plans are comprehensive, well-informed, and tailored to the unique needs of our communities.

We are committed to engaging with stakeholders, gathering insights, and refining our approaches to deliver effective and sustainable services. While some strategies are still in draft form, this iterative process allows us to incorporate feedback and make necessary adjustments to better serve the people of Cumberland.

Our key Corporate Strategies and Plans, include:

• The Cumberland Council Plan
• The Joint Strategic Needs Analysis
• The Extra Care Housing Strategy (in draft)
• The Unpaid Carers Strategy/Offer (in draft)
• Cumberland Council Commissioning & Procurement Strategy (in draft)
• Supported Housing Study (in draft)
• Homelessness Prevention and Rough Sleeping Strategy 2025-2030
• Social Value
• Cumberland Council Equality Objectives

National Legislation and Policy

Local Authorities must comply and follow the guidance of The Care Act 2014, and statutory housing legislation, such as the Housing Act 2004.

The Care Act is a law that sets out the rights and responsibilities of local authorities, care providers and people who use services in England. The Care Act is a law that sets out the rights and responsibilities of local authorities, care providers and people who use services in England. The Care Act says local authorities must facilitate a diverse, vibrant and sustainable market for care and support services that benefit the whole population. It outlines good commissioning which should:

• focus on individual wellbeing
• support workforce development
• pay an appropriate pricing of services
• support sustainability and ensure choice

The above should be done through strategic planning, supporting providers and good contracting mechanisms co-produced with local people who have experience of social care, while understanding and addressing disparities for those who share a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010.

About Cumberland Council

Cumberland Council is a newly formed unitary authority that came into being in 2023. The Council serves a population of over 300,000 people, with around 6,800 adults in receipt of some form of support from Adult Social Care and 24,000 unpaid carers (2021 Census).

Cumberland’s rural geography and coastal economy offers a mix of opportunities and challenges for public service delivery. Our services operate across the following 14 Key Service Centres (KSCs). These are towns and larger villages which provide a range of essential services and facilities to the surrounding rural areas.

The 14 KSCs in Cumberland are:

• Aspatria
• Brampton
• Carlisle
• Cockermouth
• Cleator Moor
• Egremont
• Keswick
• Longtown
• Maryport
• Millom
• Silloth
• Whitehaven
• Wigton
• Workington

Key Service Centre areas that are more densely populated are smaller, whilst larger KSCs tend to be less densely populated. The rest of Cumberland is referred to as ‘not in KSC’ and most of these places are quite rural.

Key Service Centres act as local hubs for services such as healthcare, education, retail, and transport, supporting both their own populations and those of nearby smaller settlements. The KSCs vary in physical size and population density, with more densely populated KSCs tending to be in smaller areas, such as urban centres like Carlisle or Whitehaven, and larger KSCs reflecting their more rural or dispersed nature.

Our aim as a Council is to improve the health and wellbeing of our residents. It is at the heart of everything that we do. We want them to be happy, healthy and safe throughout their lives. We will promote opportunities for people to increase or maintain their independence, while making sure we provide help early when needed. When people are vulnerable, our services will support them to live well and to be treated with a kindness that respects their dignity.

In Cumberland, commissioning for Adult Social Care & Housing is delivered through the our Target Operating Model.

As a new local authority, Cumberland is in a unique position to develop a set of new strategies and plans that are comprehensive, well-informed, and tailored to the unique needs of our communities. We will keep this Commissioning Strategy under review and will amend if there is a need to do so.

Our Commissioning Strategy has been designed to be a dynamic, organic document that is very much a part of the wider conversation around the development of a market shaping and sustainability plan. We will work iteratively in developing and reviewing the strategy based on evidence, understanding of collective impacts across contracts and outcomes for service users.

This Commissioning Strategy outlines how commissioning plays a central role within Adult Social Care & Housing services in Cumberland Council. Alongside the Councils Target Operating Model (TOM) and the Adult Social Care & Housing Vision, this strategy outlines how commissioning, alongside key stakeholders and business partners:

• shape the market to help develop a sustainable care market, especially for complex care, domiciliary care and extra care & supported housing
• commission services to reduce pressure on the health and care system by investing in universal and targeted prevention services, assistive technology and equipment services
• move towards outcome based commissioning, where providers and stakeholders are incentivised to deliver measurable improvements in residents lives.