Plans to introduce ‘single word’ inspection ratings for adult social care services should be dropped, as they set local councils up “to fail”.
The LGA said single-word ratings for local authorities will “not do justice to the complex and parlous state that adult social care is in”.
The Care Quality Commission has been instructed by the Department of Health and Social Care to implement single-word ratings as part of a new assurance process for adult social care departments from September.
After inspection, the regulator will give each council an overall score – ‘inadequate’, ‘requires improvement’, ‘good’, or ‘outstanding’.
The LGA is asking for a U-turn on the plans, instead calling for narrative reports, which it says will provide a more “useful and balanced picture of the quality of services”.
Cllr David Fothergill, Chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board, said: “It is clear that most councils are struggling to meet all of their legal duties under the Care Act 2014.
“Given that, it seems absurd to push ahead with single-word ratings for adult social care departments, which would oversimplify what are very complex services to deliver. As it stands, councils are being set up to fail.
“The Government must ensure that the assurance process is, and remains, productive and supportive for councils.”