Annual report outlines performance of Luton Borough Council’s adult social care team

Luton Borough Council has published a report outlining how its adult social care team performed over the past 12 months.

The annual Adult Social Care ‘Local Account’ identifies where services are performing well, highlights areas targeted for improvement and sets out aims and objectives for the future.

One of the notable improvements highlighted in the report is an increase in the number of people receiving direct payments to cover the cost of their care.

Another success highlighted in the report is the New Horizons service, which has provided work and volunteering opportunities to around 70 adults with learning disabilities.

One area identified for improvement is ensuring that care provided on behalf of the council by its partners in the voluntary and private sector offer consistent opportunities for service users.

Pam Garraway, corporate director for housing and community living, said: “We are committed to raising the standards of adult social care services in Luton and to help do this we have produced this report to ensure we are open, honest and accountable for our performance.

“These are difficult times for all councils and for adult social care services in particular with demand for services increasing while funding reduces. Our priority for this and future years will be to continue to promote independence and support people to recover, recuperate and rehabilitate.

“Our work with our partners continues to be fundamental to planning and delivering adult social care in Luton so we are reviewing a number of existing services and, where appropriate, commissioning new ones to deliver improvements across telecare, home care day care and carers’ support services.

“We are also committed to improving residents’ health and wellbeing through effectively targeting and developing our prevention strategy to increase activity through parks, leisure centres, libraries and other community buildings.”