The County Council of Gloucestershire is scheduled to hold an extraordinary meeting where a motion concerning the future of the county's reablement service will be presented. The meeting's agenda also includes standard procedural items.

Protecting Gloucestershire's Reablement Service

A key item scheduled for discussion is Motion 1002, titled Protect Gloucestershire's Reablement Service, Listen to Staff and Give Residents a Say. This motion, proposed by Councillor Alastair Chambers and seconded by Councillor Stuart Graham, aims to address concerns surrounding the reablement service.

The motion notes that Gloucestershire's reablement service offers crucial support to residents after illness, injury, or hospitalisation, aiding their return to independence and enabling them to remain safely in their homes. It highlights that reablement can reduce the need for hospital stays, residential care, and long-term support. The motion also points out that frontline reablement workers have expressed worries about proposals to transfer the service and its workforce out of the direct control of Gloucestershire County Council. It acknowledges the professionalism, experience, and dedication of the existing reablement workforce and states that any significant changes to this vital service should undergo proper democratic scrutiny, transparency, and meaningful consultation with staff and residents.

The council is scheduled to consider the belief that the future of reablement should prioritise residents' best interests over short-term financial considerations. It is also scheduled to consider the belief that residents deserve high-quality, consistent, and person-centred care, and that the experience of the current reablement workforce is essential for good outcomes. Furthermore, the motion is scheduled to address the belief that staff, residents, service users, families, and carers must have a significant voice in decisions affecting the service's future, and that any proposal to transfer the service outside council control must demonstrate that residents will receive an equal or better service.

The proposed resolutions include a commitment to fully scrutinise any proposals for changes to the reablement service, examining their impact on care quality, safeguarding, staff retention, morale, value for money, and resident outcomes. The motion also seeks to ensure that the Cabinet and senior officers listen to reablement staff and their representatives and formally consider their concerns. It calls for a full, accessible, and meaningful public consultation before any changes are implemented, involving all relevant parties. The motion also proposes that the results of any consultation be published, with an explanation of how feedback influenced the final decision. Elected Members are to be provided with all relevant reports, business cases, financial information, and supporting evidence for proper scrutiny. The motion also aims to note the outcome of the Adult Social Care Scrutiny consideration and the views of reablement staff. A key resolution is to pause the implementation of any transfer until appropriate scrutiny, consultation, and full democratic debate have taken place. Finally, the motion seeks to reaffirm the council's commitment to protecting high-quality reablement and to call upon the Cabinet to retain the Gloucestershire County Council's reablement service in-house until these measures are delivered and an informed, consulted decision can be made.

The accompanying notes to the motion indicate that the changes to the GCC Reablement service took place on 1 September 2026, and the new service is now live. The Reablement Workers transferred to new providers under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protected Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE). The notes also state that it is not possible to conduct a public consultation on a service once the Cabinet decision has been made and implemented, and that the council does not have the registration with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) or the necessary infrastructure to operate the service itself, as it has been commissioned from Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust for over ten years. The briefing paper prepared for the meeting suggests a six and twelve-month update to allow for scrutiny of the impact of the new service.

The meeting is scheduled to be held at Shire Hall. The agenda and full reports pack for the meeting can be found on the Gloucestershire County Council website.