The People Overview and Scrutiny Committee were scheduled to discuss a Care Quality Commission (CQC) feedback report, inequalities across Oxfordshire, and the transition of young people into adulthood. The committee, led by Councillor Ian Snowdon, Deputy Leader of Oxfordshire Alliance and Shadow Cabinet Member for Place, Environment & Climate Action, was also scheduled to review its work programme and action tracker.

CQC Feedback and Outcomes Report

The committee was asked to consider the findings of the CQC Local Authority Assessment for Oxfordshire County Council, which was published on 5 September 2025. The report noted that the council achieved a 'good' rating, which reflected strong leadership, a clear vision through the Oxfordshire Way¹ and positive partnership working with the NHS and voluntary sector. The report also summarised key areas for improvement that were identified in the revised Adult Social Care Improvement Plan, which was identified by the Local Government Association (LGA) Peer Review (March 2025) and the CQC Report.

The CQC's assessment framework is based on nine quality statements across four themes. Oxfordshire achieved Good in five areas, but four required improvement:

• Assessing needs
• Supporting people to lead healthier lives
• Equity in experience and outcomes
• Care provision, integration and continuity

The report pack stated that the council developed a continuous improvement plan after the LGA Peer Review in March 2024, and that following the CQC report, the council updated the Adult Social Care Improvement Plan for 2025–2027.

The report pack noted that appointment setting had recently been introduced in adult social care as a structured process, and that this new approach guarantees that people are informed in advance of their assessment date, fostering greater confidence and reducing anxiety.

The report pack stated that care providers remain the largest source of referrals for safeguarding concerns, accounting for 29% of all concerns overall, and that some providers fed back that they experience delays in communication and inconsistent replies to safeguarding enquiries.

The report pack stated that Oxfordshire is considered the most rural county within the South East region, and that the population is distributed approximately 60/40 between urban centres and towns or villages, with a notably higher proportion of residents aged 65 and over in rural locations.

The report pack also noted that as of October 2025, 201 people with complex needs were placed outside the county, and that the council has allocated £5.9 million in capital funding for social care in 2025/26.

Inequalities in a Marmot County

The committee was asked to consider a report on Inequalities in a Marmot County. The report noted that adult social care (ASC) support aims to help people live independently at home, stay connected with loved ones and engage in their communities, and that it goes beyond meeting basic needs by supporting people in ways that promote dignity, empowerment and timely assistance.

The report pack stated that Oxfordshire became a Marmot County in November 2024, taking a data driven systemwide approach to addressing the gap in health outcomes due to inequalities, by using the 8 principles to assess inequalities.

The report pack stated that the Health and Care Act 2022 introduced a new duty for the CQC to independently review and assess how Local Authorities are delivering their Care Act 2014 functions, and quoted the Equity in Access quality statement under the CQC's Single Assessment Framework, asserting that everyone can access the care, support and treatment they need when they need it.

The report pack noted that the council's Including Everyone EDI Framework (2025–2029) underpins strategic efforts to embed equity in service design, workforce diversity, and community engagement.

The report pack also referred to the Director of Public Health Annual Report in 2019, highlighting the disparity between in health outcomes between the most and least deprived wards in Oxfordshire, which rank within the 20% most deprived in England, and that the gap in life expectancy between the least and most deprived wards in Oxfordshire is 10 years for men and 13 years for women.

The report pack stated that in November 2024 the Oxfordshire system commenced working with the Institute of Health Equity [IHE] to become a Marmot Place, and that the partnership supports the system to understand and address the inequalities being experienced by Oxfordshire residents.

The report pack noted that the IHE have undertaken a review of Best start in life focusing on early years to the age of 25, with the aim of identifying what is driving inequalities, and where the challenges or blockers are, and that the recommendations will support ASC in preparing children and young people with SEND² for adulthood. The report pack stated that the Get Oxfordshire Working Plan aims to tackle economic inactivity and promote in-work progression, and will bring together partners and key stakeholders to examine drivers of and solutions to inequality in access to employment, and that the plan in supported by the following initiatives:

• Connect to Work is a Department for Work and Pensions national programme, commissioned in local government, which forms a key pillar of the Get Britian Working Strategy.
• Thrive at Work Oxfordshire is a free programme of support for employers to developed inclusive work environments.

The report pack also noted that the Care Act 2014 places wellbeing at the heart of adult social care, recognising that safe, suitable housing is a fundamental component of a healthy standard of living, and that local authorities work collaboratively across public health, social care, and housing services to address issues such as fuel poverty, homelessness prevention, and access to repairs or adaptations.

The report pack stated that a Housing health needs assessment was conducted during 2025 by Housing Vision, and identified the current issues for older people include homes are more likely to have risks from falls, excess cold and damp, only 13% of homes are adapted for accessibility, under-occupancy, mental health and hoarding.

The report pack also noted that the Better Housing Better Health (BHBH) service is jointly commissioned between Public Health, Adult Social Care and the five district and city councils to provide holistic support to help residents live in affordably warm (and cool) homes.

The report pack stated that the Low Income Family Tracker (LIFT) is an intelligent analytics platform that helps link local authority data and maximise residents' income.

Transition into Adulthood

The committee was asked to consider the support provided by the council for young people transitioning into adulthood to ensure they live independently and in their own communities, in line with the Oxfordshire Way.

The report pack stated that Oxfordshire County Council recognises the fundamental importance of supporting young people with additional needs and ensuring a smooth transition for those most likely to need Adult Social Care support when they reach adulthood.

The report pack noted that Adult Social Care commissioned a project in 2018 to co-produce the Moving into Adulthood Team, and that in June 2021, the Moving into Adulthood (MiA) Team was launched within Adult Social Care.

The report pack stated that the Oxfordshire Family Support Network (OxFSN) played a fundamental role in the development of the MiA Team, and that the Council commissioned OxFSN to write a Moving into Adulthood Handbook.

The report pack noted that the MiA team currently consists of a Team Manager, Practice Supervisors, Social Workers and Coordinators, and that the team work with young people on a long-term basis, with assessments completed by the time a young person is 17.5, and an agreed support plan in place to start from their 18th birthday.

The report pack stated that the team developed positive relationships with special schools and colleges, and that there are well-established monthly multi-agency transition meetings that are chaired by the Practice Supervisors in the MiA Team.

The report pack also noted that the MiA Team was created as a county-wide team to ensure that there is a consistency of approach in relation to how young people and their families are supported regardless of where they live in the county.

The report pack stated that the team has developed an internal database with local resources that is regularly updated, and that the MiA team is committed to using a flexible approach to meeting people's needs, which can include people hiring their Personal Assistants (PA's) via their Direct Payment.

The report pack noted that the MiA Team is actively involved in a number of collaborative processes that are aimed at improving outcomes for young people and ensuring a smooth transition, and that Adult Social Care plays an active role in the SEND Improvement Plan.

The report pack stated that the Council developed a transitional safeguarding protocol which was agreed in November 2023 jointly by the Children and Adult's Safeguarding Boards.

Committee Forward Work Plan

The committee was recommended to agree its work programme for forthcoming meetings, taking account of the Cabinet Forward Plan and of the Budget Management Monitoring Report.

Items that were scheduled for discussion at the next meeting on 15 January 2026 included:

• Mental Health Support Strategy
• Unpaid carers Strategy
• Supported housing enabling people to remain independent in their own communities

Committee Action and Recommendation Tracker

The committee was recommended to note the progress of previous recommendations and actions arising from previous meetings.

Responses to Scrutiny Recommendations

The committee was asked to note the draft Cabinet response to the People Overview and Scrutiny Committee report on Oxfordshire Employment Services. The Draft Cabinet Response stated that the Cabinet partially accepted the recommendations that:

• The council should explore whether an accreditation scheme would be an effective strategy to encourage businesses to work with Oxfordshire Employment Services.
• The council should expand and enhance the work of Oxfordshire Employment Services by increasing the Connect to Work programme target from 2,000 to 2,500 individuals over five years, in recognition of the service's success and the wider social and health benefits of sustained employment.