Context

About Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire has a population of 646,627 and is made up of six districts: Gloucester, Cheltenham, Forest of Dean, Stroud, Tewkesbury, and Cotswolds. The county has a diverse population, which presents challenges for planning social care. The population pyramid indicates an ageing population, with more older individuals than younger ones. The gender distribution is almost equal, with slightly more females than males.  Further information about our demographics can be found in Appendix 1 or demographic prevalence of needs of the different vulnerable people in Gloucestershire are captured on our Inform Gloucestershire website. 

The Council’s overall budget for 2023-24 is £560 million, which is used to deliver on the priorities set out in the council’s four-year strategy – Building Back Better. The corporate strategy focuses on transforming Adults, Children’s and Fire and Rescue services, as well as climate change, roads, growth, levelling up, investment and improving customer experience.

The Adult Social Care budget is £184 million, almost one third, plus £60m of joint NHS funding. The Council has almost 4000 employees, (including the fire and rescue service), of which almost one third work within Adult Social Care.

Addressing the challenges through systemwide working

The ICB is coterminous with the Council and has published its interim Integrated Care Strategy, which is the blueprint for delivering better health and care in Gloucestershire (Figure 1). This strategy builds upon the current Health and Wellbeing Strategy and One People Strategy, setting goals for the local system and improved health outcomes. It focuses on prevention, independence, resilience, and equity through collaboration with communities.

The Integrated Care Partnership and Health and Wellbeing Board have a close interface, described as 'operating with a semi-permeable membrane'. The Joint Health and Well Being Strategy sets out priorities on housing, early years, healthy lifestyles, social isolation and loneliness, mental well-being, adverse childhood experiences, and physical activity to achieve the vision of Gloucestershire being a place where everyone can live well, be healthy and thrive.

The urgent need to address significant future growth in Gloucestershire is driven by an ageing population and increased dependency. To attract workers to the county, action is being taken now. Tackling inequalities and promoting good health and work are important for reducing the need for social care, benefiting the economy. These challenges align with the council's Building Back Better, and our One Gloucestershire Integrated Care strategies. 

The council and its providers are currently facing various pressures, such as inflationary increases, cost of living, and recruitment and retention, and the need to respond to wider system pressure such as flow through the healthcare system. The Vision 2050 highlights the future predictions for Adult Social Care and emphasises the importance of taking action to address workforce challenges. As a council we invited the Local Government Association (LGA) in November 2023 to undertake a corporate peer challenge, this has provided us with key areas of focus for improvement. 

Figure 1 - Integrated Care Partnership Plan on a page: