The Care Together Vision
Keeping local people at the heart of everything we do, the council works with communities and partners to design and develop local services that enable our changing population to fulfil their wish to remain independent at home for as long as possible.
As a result:
- finding the right support in the local community is easy
- people remain active and age well, staying socially connected
- volunteers offer a hand eg with shopping and gardening
- there are more and better homecare and day opportunities, offering choice and flexibility for all
- council-funded homecare is more personalised and rewarding for everyone involved
- local people benefit from Care Together with better quality of life and a fairer, greener community
To achieve the above vision, we have dedicated place-based commissioners in each locality. The commissioners are building connections with local people and partners to co-design future services.
Our team is supporting the creation and growth of voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSEs). These will support older people to remain living independently for longer, in collaboration with Think Communities, Health professionals and other partners.
We are reshaping how we commission council-funded homecare to increase local supply. We are also introducing different types of providers into the home care market. For example, Community Micro Enterprises - to increase capacity and choice for all.
Care Together news and events
Cambridgeshire County Council launches new form of self-directed support in East Cambridgeshire, bringing more choice and control to those with care and support needs assessed by practitioners.
An Individual Service Fund (ISF) is an arrangement where the Council transfers the personal budget for a person’s care and support arrangements to an organisation chosen by the individual from a list of trusted providers carefully screened by the Council. These ISF providers will work closely with individuals to put services in place that work towards achieving the outcomes agreed in the care and support plan.
An Individual Service Fund is part of the Council’s offer to allow for more personal choice and control by people over how their support is designed and delivered. If you or somebody you know is already in receipt of Local Authority funded care and support (such as a commissioned care package), they should contact their social worker. For more information about self-directed support, see our webpage on Individual Service Funds (ISFs).
Partners and providers wishing to become Individual Service Fund Providers can contact jessica.cotton@cambridgeshire.gov.uk for more details.
New Care Together Website
We are excited to launch this brand-new countywide website for Care Together! In the coming months, watch this space for the latest developments and news from the Care Together team on how we are working with communities across Cambridgeshire to support older adults to live happily at home for longer.
So far this year, our team of Care Together commissioners have been speaking to older adults at warm hubs, cost-of-living events, Senior’s Fairs, Drop-in Sessions at Libraries, Lunch clubs, “Knit and natter” meetings and many other venues and events, as well as meeting with health partners and others. Out of these conversations, which have focused on what people love most about their communities as well as things they would like to see more of to support older adults, several co-produced projects have been identified in each locality (Cambridge, South Cambridgeshire, East Cambridgeshire, Fenland and Huntingdon).
The next step will be for grant-funding to be approved for these projects to go ahead and we hope to bring news of more opportunities for collaborative working with partners, including development of care micro-enterprises and a Capital Investment Grant to increase accessibility of public venues, like village halls, in the coming months.
Community Micro-Enterprises
Community Micro-Enterprises are local people who are supported to set up their own small businesses. They provide their neighbours with personalised care and support (care micro-enterprises), amongst other services that support independence at home.
We offer training and guidance on running such a business. Benefits include:
- longer-lasting relationships between the care worker and their clients (lower turnover)
- opportunities to make a livelihood
- making a difference to people's lives in communities where employment opportunities are often limited
Click on your locality below to see which community micro-enterprises are already up and running in your area.
If you would like more information on setting up a Community Micro-Enterprise, please email care.together@cambridgeshire.gov.uk
Care Together partners
- Cambridge Council for Voluntary Services
- Hunts Forum
- Voluntary & Community Action for East Cambs
- Community Catalysts
- Cambridgeshire Library Service
- Caring Together (Carers Support)
- How Are You? Cambridgeshire & Peterborough
- FACT Community Transport
- The Ferry Project (Wisbech)
- AgeUK
- The SUN Network
- Healthwatch
- Cambridgeshire ACRE
- Camsight
- Care Network Cambridgeshire
- Integrated Care System
- East Cambs District Council
- South Cambs District Council
- Cambridge City Council
- Hunts District Council
- Fenland District Council
Contact us
Please contact us if you would like any further information.
