1. Membership
1.1 Fifteen members of the Council. The Chair and Vice-Chair of the committee shall be appointed by Full Council.
1.2 The Chair of the Adults and Health Committee will be designated the Lead Councillor for Adult Services in accordance with the ‘Best Practice Guidance on the Role of the Director of Adult Social Services’ (Department of Health 2006).
1.3 Five non-voting co-opted district councillors, one from each district council in Cambridgeshire. District councils shall be invited to nominate one member and one substitute. The usual rules for substitution as set out in the Council Procedure Rules shall apply.
2. Summary of Functions
2.1 This committee has delegated authority to exercise the Council’s functions relating to the delivery, by or on behalf of the County Council, of the following social care services to eligible adults within Cambridgeshire:
(a) Services for people with physical disability;
(b) Services for people with learning disability;
(c) Mental health services;
(d) Preventative services;
(e) Residential care;
(f) Older people;
(g) Carer support;
(h) Safeguarding.
2.2 This committee also has delegated authority to exercise the Council’s functions in respect of the following:
(a) The County Council’s public health duty, including:
(i) Health improvement,
(ii) Individual and community wellbeing,
(iii) Reduction of health inequalities.
(b) Review the strategies and policies proposed by other committees to ensure that they support the improvement of health and a reduction in health inequalities.
(c) Responding as appropriate to central government consultation relating to policy or legislation falling within the remit of the committee.
3. Delegated Authorities
Delegated Authority |
Delegation / Condition |
Authority to take decisions relating to exercising management, oversight and the delivery of all the Council’s relevant adult social care services (i.e. social care services for people aged 18 or over with eligible social care needs and their carers), except for those decisions which are reserved to Full Council. |
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Authority to undertake the Council’s functions for promoting choice and independence in the provision of all adult social care. |
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Authority to approve all strategies associated with the committee portfolio area which are not reserved for Full Council. |
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Authority to respond, as appropriate, on behalf of the Council to government consultation in respect of policy and/or legislation affecting adult social care. |
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Authority to take decisions relating to exercising management, oversight and the delivery of all the Council’s public health services for the population. |
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Authority to assist the Director of Public Health in the exercise of the public health statutory duties set out in: (i) Health and Social Care Act 2012; (ii) NHS Bodies and Local Authorities (Partnership Arrangements, Care Trusts, Public Health and Local Healthwatch) Regulations 2012; (iii) NHS Act 2006; (iv) Criminal Justice Act 2003; (v) Licensing Act 2003; (vi) Water Industry Act 1991; (vii) Water Industry Act 1988; (viii) Mental Health Act 1983; (ix) Mental Capacity Act 2005. |
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Authority to oversee and undertake the Council’s functions relating to the public health duty of the Council including health improvement, individual and community wellbeing, and the reduction of health inequalities. |
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Authority to nominate representatives to outside bodies other than the Combined Authority, Greater Cambridge Partnership, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Fire Authority, the County Councils Network Council and the Local Government Association. |
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Authority to respond, as appropriate, on behalf of the Council to government consultation in respect of policy and/or legislation affecting any of the responsibilities falling with the remit of the Adults and Health Committee. |
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Authority to respond to consultations by relevant NHS commissioning bodies and relevant health service providers on substantial reconfiguration proposals. Where the Committee has established or appointed members to a joint health overview and scrutiny committee (JHOSC), this authority to respond may be delegated to that JHOSC, in consultation with the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Adults and Health Committee. |
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Authority to review and advise on any strategies and policies proposed by the Council’s committees to ensure that they will support and contribute to the delivery of improvement in health individual and community wellbeing and a reduction in health inequalities. |
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Authority to consider and respond to any referrals made to the Council by the local Healthwatch. This will include: (a) Acknowledging receipt of the referral within 20 working days beginning with the date on which the referral was made; and (b) Keeping the referrer informed of any action taken in relation to the matter. |
[Chapter D5 (Adults and Health Committee) was last amended on 15 July 2025]
A PDF version of this chapter is available to view or download on the CMIS section of the Council’s website, along with a PDF version of the full constitution.