Cheshire West and Chester Council seeks people’s views on future of adult social care

Cheshire West and Chester Council’s commission into the future of adult social care is meeting next week to consider issues around funding and paying for care and the council is seeking people’s views on their experiences.

The commission is working to ensure that adult social care provision in the borough is ready for future challenges and opportunities. It will be considering how adult social care in the borough is funded and paid for at its second meeting on Monday, 13 December.

The commission is made up of Labour, Conservative and Independent councillors along with representatives of the local community and voluntary sector and the NHS.  A range of other partners are also being invited to participate as expert witnesses, with findings and recommendations to go to the Council’s Cabinet.

The meeting will hear from local people about their experiences of drawing on social care, the Local Government Association about the funding issues faced by all councils, and Hammersmith and Fulham Council, who have abolished care charges for disabled people living independently in the community .

The Commission is collecting evidence and a public call for evidence was launched in September asking for local people, partners and care providers to share any evidence that the Commission should consider. People have been asked to share their views and ideas using the email:

FutureOfSocialCare@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk

They can also write to Future of Social Care, Cheshire West and Chester Council, 4 Civic Way, Ellesmere Port CH65 0BE.

The Commission has a webpage at:

www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/futuresocialcare

...where it has published material shared at the Commission and hosts recordings of meetings. The page also includes a forward plan of meetings dates and the themes for discussion. 

Cheshire West and Chester Council’s Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Cllr Val Armstrong, said: “We are working hard to ensure that our social care provision here in west Cheshire is ready for future challenges and opportunities.

"To help us to do this, we would very much like to hear from anyone with experience of adult social care. By sharing your views then you can help make a difference, so please do get in touch.”

Commission meetings are being held virtually and are open for anyone to attend and observe. There will be public speaking time available at the start of each meeting for anyone to ask to speak briefly on a topic related to the theme under discussion.  Anyone wishing to speak here needs to request to do so by noon the working day before the meeting.  

The first part of each meeting will also be dedicated to hearing about the experiences, views and ideas from those who draw on social services, their families and carers.  Anyone wishing to speak to the Commission can share their experiences, request to use the public speaking time or propose themselves as expert witnesses via:

FutureOfSocialCare@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk 

Or by writing in to the address given above.

The Council is currently engaging with a variety of local groups and communities to raise awareness of the Commission and to understand and explore how else they might wish to share their expertise with Commissioners.