Our Response: Local Government Reorganisation – Put Adult Social Care First

Norfolk Care Association has submitted a formal response to the Government’s consultation, Proposals for local government reorganisation in Norfolk and Suffolk. As the representative voice of adult social care providers across Norfolk, we felt it was essential to reflect the views, concerns and practical realities facing providers at a time when the sector is already under strain.

Our response highlights the potential risks that reorganisation could pose to adult social care, including disruption to commissioning relationships, increased complexity for providers operating across boundaries, and the diversion of focus away from care delivery. While we recognise the importance of effective partnership working and alignment with health systems, we are clear that structural change alone will not address the fundamental challenges facing the sector. You can read the consultation proposal in full via the gov.uk website, and our response below sets out the key issues and principles we believe must be prioritised to protect the quality, stability and sustainability of care in Norfolk.

Our Response

Care providers are concerned that any local government reorganisation will create disruption at a time when the adult social care sector is already under significant pressure. Changes to structures, leadership and decision-making processes risk diverting attention and resource away from care delivery and are likely to negatively impact timely decisions, commissioning relationships and ultimately the quality and continuity of care for people.

Many providers operate across multiple local authority areas. Further reorganisation risks introducing additional pathways, policies, commissioning approaches, and contractual requirements, increasing complexity and administrative burden. Providers are clear that greater fragmentation would be unhelpful and would reduce the time and resources that should be focused on delivering care.

Alignment of local government boundaries with health system footprints is seen as beneficial. Being coterminous with health boundaries can support more effective partnership working, integration, and system-wide planning.

There is also concern that reorganisation could lead to duplication of departments, functions, and senior management structures. This risks increasing overhead costs at a time when public funding is already under strain, potentially reducing the resources available for direct care services and investment in care provision.

We believe that adult social care is best delivered through a strategic, county-wide approach aligned to a single organisation. This supports consistency, economies of scale and effective market shaping. We recognise that integrating some district council functions may offer opportunities for improved join-up in key areas such as aides and adaptations, housing, homelessness, and community support, which are important wider determinants and enablers of care demand and individuals’ ability to live independently.

Overall, providers believe that organisational competence, leadership quality and effective commissioning are more important than organisational structure. Greater emphasis should be placed on improving capability, relationships and decision-making rather than on reorganisation.

Finally, investment is critical. Changes to organisational structures will not resolve the fundamental challenges facing adult social care. Without adequate and sustainable funding for providers, services, workforce and the people who need support, any reorganisation risks becoming a distraction rather than a solution.

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