Cambridgeshire County Council’s adult social care services have been rated as ‘Good’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), with its assessment finding that early support and flexible options are helping people stay independent longer.
The report, which was published today (Wednesday 20 August) follows a period of assessment which the CQC started in November 2024, culminating in a site visit in early April. It found that people who draw on the council’s care felt supported, listened to and offered choices, with care being co-ordinated in a planned way considering people’s interests and what was important to them.
A range of successes and areas of good practice were highlighted in the report, including:
- Prevention and Reablement success: Quick assessments and goal-focused care are enabling people to stay at home and thrive.
- Strong provider relationships: Staff build trust and offer tailored care packages, supported by robust quality assessments.
- Leadership that listens: A stable leadership team is driving cultural change and boosting morale.
- Wellbeing at work: Staff feel supported through flexible working, wellbeing initiatives, and caring leadership.
The report also includes a number of areas where the council needs to improve, including:
- Direct payments: The number of people receiving direct payments is significantly below the national average. This needs to be increased to give people more choice and control over their care.
- Equity and inclusion: The council needs to improve its use of demographic data to understand the needs of underrepresented groups in Cambridgeshire.
- Unpaid carers: The council should build on the work of our All Age Carers Strategy 2022-2026 to ensure unpaid carers have consistently good experiences.
- Transitions and continuity of care: The council should work to improve transitions from children’s services to adults’ services for young people, ensuring this is timely and well-coordinated.
Councillor Graham Wilson, chair of the Adults and Health Committee at Cambridgeshire County Council, said: “We are delighted with the outcome of our CQC assessment. It’s all thanks to our dedicated colleagues who carry out invaluable work with our residents and partners each day.
“It was great to see the report highlight our utilisation of co-production involving people with lived experience of using services, and the commitment by our teams to empowering people to be involved in decisions around their care.
“However, we are aware that there are still steps we must take to further improve how we support residents and deliver services, to ensure people in Cambridgeshire can live healthy, safe, and independent lives with timely, personalised support. We’ve laid strong foundations for this, with work underway on a comprehensive action plan to address those areas highlighted in the report.”
You can read the report in full on the CQC's website.
