Have your say on support for working age adults

Results updated 21 Nov 2019

On 24 September 2019, East Sussex County Council’s Lead Member for Adult Social Care and Health agreed to changes in support for working age adults. 

This follows a proposal to change the way working age adults are supported. The savings proposal underwent a 10-week consultation and Equality Impact Assessments, which informed the decision.

What has been agreed?

For working age adults, the council will carry out a programme of client reviews, to make sure people’s support meets their needs and identified outcomes, considers their strengths, supports their independence and is cost effective. The council will also review the services available in the community, and consider whether work is needed to develop the market, as well as working with providers to understand why residential and nursing costs are higher in East Sussex.

What happens next?

Adult Social Care will be in touch with people affected by the decision over the coming months. No changes will be made to people’s support until they’ve been contacted.

For more information read the Lead Member papers and minutes.
See below for an easy read summary of what has been agreed and what happens next.

Consultation results

We received over 70 responses to the consultation from organisations, groups and individuals, with nearly two fifths coming from people who receive support and their families and carers. Overall themes from the consultation included:

• There are particular concerns that the proposals come from an expectation that savings are made, as people feel it should be about what is needed and not about making cuts.
• People are generally supportive of the proposed approach and feel that in principle it is a reasonable step to take.
• People and their families are worried that their support will be changed in a way that will mean their needs aren’t met, which would have a negative impact on their daily life.
• Respondents feel strongly that the focus must be on the individual and any reviews should be about people’s needs and the best way of meeting these.
• The main challenge in supporting people in new ways is likely to be whether the right sort of support and services for this age group are available to meet demand.
• It could be particularly challenging in rural areas, as services may be more limited.

See below for an easy read summary of the results.

Files:

• Easy read - what has been agreed and what happens next (WAA), 1.2 MB (PDF document)
• Easy read - consultation results summary (WAA), 1.7 MB (PDF document)