The Camden Council Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee met on 8 July 2025, to discuss Adult Social Care, mental health services and the committee's work programme. The committee noted the progress of the new Mental Health Social Work Service, congratulated Adult Social Care on their recent Care Quality Commission (CQC) rating, and reviewed performance data from across the council.

Care Quality Commission (CQC) Assessment of Camden Adult Social Care

The committee congratulated Camden's Adult Social Care (ASC) on receiving an 'Outstanding' rating from the CQC, the first local authority to do so under the new CQC Assurance framework. The report, published on 28 February 2025, scored Adult Social Care services at 89% overall.

Councillor Larraine Revah, Chair of Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee, requested that thanks be passed to everyone in the service.

The report highlighted strengths in equity, partnership working, safe systems, governance, and innovation. Appendix A - London Borough of Camden ASC CQC Assessment report

Jess McGregor, Executive Director Adults and Health, noted that the national data did not fully reflect the quality of social care, but the service was taking the feedback seriously and would focus on areas needing improvement, particularly assessing needs, where the service received the lowest score.

The Executive Director Adults and Health said that the service would gain rich data from tech-supported conversations about Adult Social Care over the next year to build confidence about feeling safe.

Councillor Anna Wright, Cabinet Member for Health, Wellbeing and Adult Social Care, said that the CQC had been very interested in how a relational culture had been developed and believed that this had made the council stand out.

Allegra Lynch from Camden Carers, who had been interviewed as part of the process, confirmed the good relationship between the council and the voluntary sector.

A New Model of Mental Health Social Work in Camden

The committee noted the progress of Camden's new Mental Health Social Work Service, scheduled to commence on 30 June 2025. The service aims to strengthen mental health social care provision, improve integration with NHS services, and ensure residents receive timely, appropriate, and person-centred support.

The new model includes:

• All Mental Health Social Work staff reporting directly to the council.
• A Mental Health Social Work Hub to receive, triage, and progress all new referrals.
• Three localised Mental Health Social Work Teams to work alongside the North London NHS Foundation Trust's Core Mental Health Services.
• All mental health social care activity to be recorded directly onto the council's Adult Social Care recording system (MOSAIC).
• Replacing the existing Section 75 agreement¹ with a Memorandum of Understanding between Camden Council and North London Foundation Trust.

Councillor Larraine Revah, Chair of Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee, thanked all those who had contributed to developing and implementing the new service.

It was clarified that the East Integrated Neighbourhood Team continued to test ways of working and that the new teams were supporting the neighbourhood footprints in preparation for rolling out the integrated neighbourhood teams across Camden.

It was confirmed that the new model was cost-neutral and that an evaluation framework would be developed shortly.

Allegra Lynch, Camden Carers, welcomed the Mental Health Social Workers being brought back in-house, as it would make it easier to find out if somebody had received a carer's assessment.

Update of the Cabinet Member for Health, Wellbeing and Adult Social Care

Councillor Anna Wright, Cabinet Member for Health, Wellbeing and Adult Social Care, provided an update on key issues within her portfolio.

In response to a question about the Social Connection Workshops, it was clarified that they had taken place during June 2025 and had been well-attended. Outputs would be brought to a future committee meeting, and workshop participants would be invited to speak to the report.

The committee noted the increased service demand of more than 10% from the previous year. Councillor Anna Wright, Cabinet Member, cited rising poverty and inequality as affecting health and wellbeing, with other drivers including a significant population churn and rise in homelessness.

In response to questions about lengthy waiting times for home adaptations following an occupational therapy assessment, Avril Mayhew, Director of ASC Operations and Deputy DASS, informed the meeting that an end-to-end review of the whole process from assessment to delivery had begun to identify where processes could be shortened.

It was confirmed that the council contractually requires commissioned services to pay the London Living Wage².

Chris Lehmann, Director ASC Strategy and Commissioning and Deputy DASS, stated that there was a robust annual uplift process for providers following increases to the London Living Wage and National Insurance.

The Cabinet Member explained that the Family Hubs Pregnancy Grants took a different approach to Scotland's Baby Box as the intervention was at a different point. Kirsten Watters, Director of Health and Wellbeing, explained that a primary outcome measure was reducing the current high prevalence of low birth weight as compared with neighbouring boroughs.

Insight, Learning and Impact Report – Quarter 4/End of Year 2024-25

The committee considered the Insight, Learning and Impact Report – Quarter 4/End of Year 2024-25.

It was noted that it had been the first time that indicators for Children's Health and Wellbeing had been included under Adults and Health.

Officers confirmed that further updates would be brought on the Adult Early Help pilot and workstreams.

The service was congratulated on the reduction in agency staff, with associated financial savings and improved continuity of care.

It was suggested that further information on the indicators be provided for the next report to support understanding.

With regard to monitoring the consequences of NHS reorganisation, it was confirmed that officers worked closely with their counterparts in the Integrated Care Board (ICB) and provider trusts.

Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee Work Programme and Action Tracker

The committee discussed the work programme for 2025-26 and the action tracker.

The Chair noted that an additional meeting could be arranged to consider more reports.

There was a discussion on how male violence against women and girls could be considered through a health and adult social care lens. It could be initially addressed through scrutiny of the Safeguarding Adults Partnership Board Annual Report in September 2025.