Major £1.6m investment in jobs as council seeks to boost adult health

Blackpool Council is investing £1.6 million – including the creation of new jobs – to power its campaign to improve Adult Care Services.

The council is pressing forward with a major improvement plan as it looks to meet the recommendations of a damning report into the services by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) last year.

And the council says it is essential that it puts in “the necessary funding to make sure  staff and systems are there to deliver a good quality level of social care” for people when they need it.

The service, which provides practical and emotional support to adults over 18 who need help to live independently due to illness, disability, old age, or mental health conditions, was given an “inadequate” rating last year.

Although the report noted that staff were passionate about their work, it also highlighted a number of   serious shortcomings.

Key areas targeted for improvement include reducing long assessment waiting times, strengthening safeguarding oversight, improving personalised communication for individual needs, and developing stronger, more capable leadership.

In order to ensure there is sufficient staffing capacity to drive and maintain foundational improvement, the  additional £1.6m investment in adult social care was agreed.

This is recurring and has been built into the 2026/27 Medium-Term Financial Plan (MTFP) and was approved through the Council’s budget-setting process.

What Deputy Leader says

Cllr Neal Brookes, Deputy Leader of Blackpool Council and cabinet member for adult social care, added: “We have a town wide plan to improve adult social care in Blackpool. Our plan is led by the people who use the service and is having a positive impact.

“Over the last year, waiting and assessment times have improved and more people are being supported to live independently and in their own communities and homes.

“We are also changing the service people receive when they first contact us for support, so they can get expert advice faster, regardless of their need.

“All of this has led to more adults saying they have control over their daily life and our services outperforming the national average for care.

“Some of that work can be done by changing processes, but there is no escaping that more investment was needed.

“We have committed in the last budget to putting in the necessary funding to make sure the staff and systems are there to deliver a good quality level of social care that can support people as and when they need it.”

In April,  Blackpool Council submitted its Adult Social Care Improvement Plan to the Department of Health and Social Care, setting out how services will be strengthened across the town after the damning “inadequate” CQC report.

The plan outlines a programme aimed at improving outcomes and ensuring long-term sustainability. It follows six months of work involving the council, NHS, police, the Local Government Association, care partners including Blackpool Carers Centre, Trinity Hospice and Empowerment Charity, as well as staff and people with lived experience of adult social care in Blackpool.

The plan focuses on four areas: working with people, providing support, safety and leadership. It sets out how the council aims to deliver sustainable improvements through strengths-based approaches, helping people have more say in the care they receive.