Latest update
Improving Adult Social Care Together
In June 2026, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) published its assessment of Somerset Council’s Adult Social Care services. While the inspection recognised areas of good practice and strong commitment from staff and partners, it also identified areas where improvements are needed.
We welcome the feedback from the CQC and have developed an Improvement Plan which sets out how we will address the findings of the report and will strengthen services, improve outcomes and ensure people receive the support they need at the right time. We submitted our CQC Improvement Plan to the Department of Health and Social Care on 17 September 2026. We will provide quarterly progress updates to demonstrate delivery against the plan and the difference the improvements are making.
The plan has been shaped by the findings of the CQC assessment, learning from people with lived experience, staff, partners and providers, and our ongoing commitment to continuous improvement. We are keen to extend our improvement and to work in partnership with people who use our services, unpaid carers, families and local communities
Our Improvement Priorities
Helping people access information, advice and support more quickly
We know that timely assessments, reviews and decisions are important to people’s wellbeing and independence. We are improving how we manage referrals, waiting lists and reviews, introducing a more consistent approach across Somerset and ensuring people are kept informed while they may wait and connects to services within their local communities We will also redesign processes to reduce delays and make it easier for people to access information, advice and support.
Strengths-based practice
We want every conversation, assessment, review and support plan to focus on what matters most to people, building on their strengths, independence and community connections. We are refreshing our practice standards, strengthening quality assurance and investing in workforce development so that people experience consistent, person-centred and outcomes-focused support.
Ensuring people are safe
Protecting people from abuse and neglect remains a priority. We are improving safeguarding pathways, strengthening quality assurance arrangements and improving the way we monitor and learn from safeguarding activity. This will help ensure concerns are responded to consistently, promptly and effectively. We are also engaging in support for Partners in Care to undertake and health check of the full safeguarding approach in Somerset.
Supporting people to live independently
We are working with partners across Somerset to strengthen prevention, early help and community-based support. This includes improving access to information and advice, supporting unpaid carers, developing community reablement services, improving access to technology-enabled care and reducing delays for home adaptations that help people remain safe and independent at home. We are working with Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) to review the current offer for unpaid carers, enabling us to learn from other high performing councils.
Reducing inequalities and improving accessibility
We want services to be accessible, inclusive and responsive to the needs of all Somerset communities. We will use equality, locality and lived experience information to better understand barriers to accessing support, improve communication, and work with seldom-heard communities to design solutions that meet local needs.
Embedding co-production and listening to people
People who use services, unpaid carers, providers, staff and partners will play a central role in shaping future improvements. We are strengthening our approach to co-production and introducing clearer feedback processes, including a “You Said, We Did” approach that demonstrates how feedback has influenced decisions and service improvements.
Strengthening leadership, governance and accountability
We are continuing to strengthen our governance and assurance arrangements so that leaders have a clear understanding of performance, quality, risk and outcomes.
This will help ensure that improvement activity remains focused on delivering meaningful benefits for people and communities.
How We Will Monitor Progress
Progress against the Improvement Plan will be closely monitored through a robust governance and assurance framework. The primary oversight of delivery will be provided by the Adult Social Care CQC Assurance Board.
The Assurance Board will:
- Review progress against all improvement actions and milestones.
- Monitor performance indicators and evidence of improvement.
- Review risks, barriers, dependencies and mitigation actions.
- Consider feedback from people with lived experience, unpaid carers, staff, providers and partners.
- Examine quality assurance findings, safeguarding information, complaints, workforce intelligence and equality data.
- Challenge areas where progress is not being delivered at the required pace.
- Ensure there is evidence that improvements are resulting in better outcomes and experiences for people.
The Board’s role is not only to track whether actions have been completed, but also to test whether those actions are making a positive difference to people’s lives.
Reporting Progress Publicly
We are committed to being open and transparent about our improvement journey.
Regular updates on progress will be reported through our governance arrangements, including Scrutiny Committees and partnership boards, and we will continue to share key developments, achievements and learning with residents, people who use services, unpaid carers, providers and partners.
Improvement is an ongoing journey, and we remain committed to working together with people and communities across Somerset to deliver high-quality Adult Social Care services that help people live safe, healthy and independent lives.
David Coleman-Groom
Executive Director for Adult Social Care and Housing
Somerset Council
Previous update
Outcome of the assessment information
On 5 June 2026 the Care Quality Commission (CQC) published its assessment of Somerset Council’s Adult Social Care services, giving it an overall rating of ‘Requires Improvement.’
In September 2025, the CQC looked at nine areas spread across four themes to assess how well the local authority is meeting their responsibilities to decide this requires improvement rating.
These themes are:
- How the local authority works with people
- Providing support
- How the local authority ensures safety in the system
- Leadership
Our response
While we are disappointed with the overall rating, the assessment highlights both:
- Strengths in our system, including partnership working and the commitment of our workforce
- Areas where improvement is needed, particularly to ensure consistency of experience and outcomes
Since our assessment in September, we have continued to make significant progress across the areas identified, which include timeliness of assessments and reviews, support for unpaid carers, and how the council uses data to drive improvement.
Some of these improvements include:
- Commissioned a twenty-four-hour self-service tool via our partner, Thrive, that helps carers find local support and carers’ groups quickly.
- Put an oversight group in place reviewing the timeliness of assessments and reviews, we are starting to see movement in the length of longest delay, whilst prioritising those at greatest need.
- Using data to track trends and target resource; this is clear when we look at supporting people using self-directed and direct payments is above the England average. *
*(Self-Directed Support – Somerset = 98.3%, Southwest average = 85.8%, England average = 82.4%. Direct Payments – Somerset = 35.4%, Southwest average = 23.5%, England average = 24.5%).
These changes are already having a positive impact in many areas and provide a strong foundation for further improvement.
Areas we are focusing on next
We recognise there is more to do, particularly to ensure:
- Consistent experiences and outcomes for people across all pathways
- Continued reduction in delays and waiting times
- Strengthened support for unpaid carers
- Greater consistency in practice and decision-making
- Stronger use of data and insight to drive improvement
Key next steps
- Delivering a clear and focused improvement plan
- Continuing joint work with partners and providers
- Embedding co-production in service design and delivery
- Sharing progress regularly through existing partnerships and forums
We will ensure that you, our stakeholders, are kept regularly informed, involved in shaping solutions and supported to contribute to improvement activity where appropriate.
We recognise and thank you for your continued commitment to supporting people across Somerset.
David Coleman-Groom
Executive Director for Adult Social Care and Housing
Somerset Council
On-site visit
The on-site visit by the Assessment Team took place from Tuesday 23 to Thursday 25 September 2025. During their time with us, the assessors met with leaders, front-line staff, people using services, unpaid carers, voluntary and community groups, and care providers. We are now working on populating the timetable and will be able to share that in due course.
Ahead of the visit, we also held a separate online session on Friday 12 September 2025 to share our data and performance framework, helping the team understand how we are meeting our duties under Part 1 of the Care Act.
Introducing Somerset Council to the CQC Team
On 2 September 2025, Somerset Council’s Adult Social Care Leadership Team was invited to deliver an introductory presentation to the CQC Assessment Team. The CQC Assessment Team includes:
- Assessment Manager – Laura Cresser
- Lead Inspector – Jez Hunt
- Lead Inspector (Support) – Matthew Atkinson
- Executive Reviewer – Jonathan Griffiths
- Specialist Advisor – Claire Migale
We are very proud of our partnerships and collaborative approach in Somerset, so we invited some of our partners and commissioned providers to prepare and deliver the presentation with us. This included people with lived experience and members of our Working Together Board. Within the presentation we included the following:
- Welcome to Somerset
- Our new council
- Our vibrant communities
- Our early help and prevention offer
- Quality assurance
- Our partnerships and how we design creative solutions