The Adults and Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee met to discuss the Care Quality Commission's (CQC) assessment of Leicestershire County Council's adult social care services, an update on the Adult Social Care Customer Service Centre, and proposals for recommissioning the Community Life Choices (CLC) contract. The committee noted the CQC report and the draft improvement plan, requested a future report detailing call categories into the Customer Service Centre, and noted the report on recommissioning the CLC contract.

Care Quality Commission (CQC) Assessment

The committee reviewed the Care Quality Commission Assessment of Leicestershire County Council's Delivery of Care Act 2014 Duties, which rated the council's services as 'Requires Improvement' with an overall score of 53. The report highlighted strengths including multiple access channels to care services, a person-centred approach to assessments, and effective partnerships. Areas needing improvement included responsiveness, waiting list reduction, access to information, and carer support.

Key discussion points included:

• Comparison to other councils: A member asked where Leicestershire County Council ranked compared to other councils, given its score of 53. The Director of Adults and Communities, Jon Wilson, responded that the CQC did not publish a league table, but Leicestershire was likely to be in the third quartile, which is 'Requires Improvement'.
• External support: Members questioned the need for external improvement support from Partners in Care and Health, given the council's resources. It was explained that external support covered areas such as workforce and safeguarding.
• Resource allocation: With improvement costs estimated at £3.5 million, members sought assurance that sufficient resources would be allocated to achieve a 'Good' or 'Outstanding' rating, especially with a £90 million efficiency target.
• Demand management: A member questioned whether waiting lists were due to increased demand or NHS discharges, causing cost-shunting to social care. Officers assured that the council collaborated with the NHS to manage care, expanding intermediate care and piloting a neighbourhood health programme.
• Staffing levels: A member noted reduced funding and staffing amid rising demand, questioning how services could improve with cost cuts and the closure of council elderly care homes. The Director of Adults and Communities, Jon Wilson, reported staff reductions saving £4 million since 2017/18, but cited unforeseen demand post-pandemic.
• Communication: Members raised concerns about communication difficulties with Adult Social Care, such as long telephone wait times. Officers acknowledged this and said that telephone access and user experience would be reviewed.
• Rural deprivation: Members expressed disappointment that the CQC report did not reference underfunding and rural deprivation, requesting the improvement plan include improved GP collaboration and communication in rural areas.
• Healthwatch feedback: Fiona Barber, Healthwatch Leicester and Healthwatch Leicestershire, reported that most of the 10,000 enquiries made over 2024 were health-related, with social care concerns centred on carers, communication, and waiting times.

The committee noted the CQC assessment report and the department's draft improvement plan.

Adult Social Care Customer Service Centre (CSC) Update

The committee reviewed a report providing an update on the Adult Social Care Customer Service Centre (CSC), following concerns raised at the meeting on 1 September 2025.

Key discussion points included:

• Communication challenges: A member expressed frustration with long telephone wait times, difficulty obtaining officer contact details, and challenges using online forms, especially for older people. Officers acknowledged these frustrations and said that incorrect phone numbers on the website would be amended.
• Response times: Officers reported that portal forms had a 10-working day response protocol, but were usually responded to within three days, with urgent cases receiving a same-day response.
• Contact pathways: A member noted persistent confusion and complexity in contact pathways, suggesting improvements beyond a callback system, including better identification of allocated workers.
• Call categories: It was confirmed that 30% of calls to Adult Social Care were attempts to reach allocated workers. The Director of Adults and Communities, Jon Wilson, was requested to bring a report to a future meeting providing detail on call categories.
• Operating hours: Members were informed that the CSC operating hours were standard hours from 8:30am to 5:00pm weekdays (4:30pm Fridays), with emergency workers covering evenings, nights, and weekends.
• Callback option: Members supported introducing a callback option and suggested involving parish councils, GPs, and communities in communication improvements.
• Portal use: A member suggested enforcing portal use for external services and recommended that portal response time information should be available to build confidence in using the portal service.
• ABC card: The Cabinet Lead Member for Adults and Communities, Mr C. Abbott CC, suggested developing an ABC card with key contact numbers for easy reference, alongside existing packs.

The committee noted the update report on the Adult Social Care CSC and requested that the Director of Adults and Communities, Jon Wilson, bring a report to a future meeting detailing call categories into the CSC.

Procurement of Community Life Choices (CLC) Contract

The committee considered a report outlining proposals for recommissioning the Community Life Choices (CLC) Contract, which includes day centres/services and individual personal assistants (PAs) provided by organisations.

Key discussion points included:

• Support bandings: Members asked for clarification on the new support bandings, in relation to the numbers of people who required one-to-one support. It was explained that some people received a service from more than one banding and that PAs were employed by the organisations that delivered one-to-one care and were not self-employed.
• PA shortages: Members raised concern over the recognised shortage of PAs, particularly in rural areas such as Melton Mowbray and Market Harborough, and the commissioning of non-framework PA packages which could be in excess of £25 per hour. Officers accepted that rural provision could be challenging and had engaged with PA providers across the county to find out what was needed to mobilise local provision for hard-to-reach areas.
• Provider rates: In response to a question, the Director of Adults and Communities, Jon Wilson, reported that uplifts to providers rates had never been guaranteed and that the change to the new contract was to align rates with the National Living Wage rather than average weekly earnings.
• Savings: There was an estimated midpoint of £150,000 savings based on the floor-and-ceiling model. Actual savings would be dependent on bids received and potential efficiencies, such as improved staff ratios, which would become clearer once the contract was operational.
• Lessons learned: Reflecting on the Help to Live at Home tender, the Healthwatch representative queried what lessons had informed the process and also asked where the geographic needs base fitted in.
• In-house day services: A member noted that the authority had previously provided in-house day services, but Market Harborough's had recently closed. Officers informed Members that all CLC services, including day provision for older people and those with learning disabilities, were now outsourced, which was consistent with most councils.

The committee noted the report on the proposals for the recommissioning of Community Life Choices (CLC) Contract.