New services and the expansion or new cohorts of people and making them available enhancement of existing ones prior to a full social care assessment. Over a third of the FOI responses mentioned ‘developing or investing in new services’. Over Recommendations: 60 different services were mentioned, including sensory reablement, therapeutic services, home > The Care and Support Programme adaptations, domiciliary care, assistive technology, Management Office (Department of Health, debt management, active walking, carers’ support Local Government Association and the and befriending services. Association of Directors of Adult Social Services) should review ‘opportunities for Earl Howe made clear that Section 2 of the Care Act shared learning’ to help local authorities be ‘truly was intended to encourage innovation: 48 innovative in the services offered in their area’. > Despite budget constraints, local ‘We want local authorities authorities should continue to look for ways to be truly innovative in the to invest in ‘a broad range of (preventative) 49 interventions, as one size will not fit all’. services offered in their area’.41 > While reinvesting in services previously seed-funded by Government (such as This ambition was recently reiterated by Una O’Brien, telecare and handypersons services) is then-Permanent Secretary at the Department of welcome, local authorities should seek to Health: ‘What we are seeking to do [through the realise the Care Act ambition of developing Care Act] is orchestrate much greater effort on and ‘truly innovative’ services. 42 attention to prevention and early intervention’. Disappointingly, the ‘new’ services identified The Care and Support Reform Programme were not particularly innovative. For example, 43 telecare and handyperson services were referred Management Office report quarterly findings to in various responses. While they both have clear from a ‘Care Act stocktake’ of local authorities’ preventative value, they should not be new to local progress with implementation. The purpose of authorities. In April 2006, the Government invested these stocktakes is to ‘develop a collective picture £80 million into the Preventative Technology Grant of progress across the country in a way that is useful that focussed on increasing the numbers of people both nationally and locally, providing information to able to remain independent with telecare. Similarly, the facilitate local strategic discussions, map progress Department for Communities and Local Government and identify support needs and opportunities for 44 introduced a handypersons grant in 2009/10 allocating shared learning’ . Findings from the fourth stocktake approximately £13 million in 2009/10 and £17 million (the one most recently available at the time of going in 2010/11 to English local authorities. to print) show 37 per cent of local authorities were identified as having potential support needs in Nevertheless, we were pleased to see a variety relation to arrangements for preventing needs for of lower-level preventative interventions listed care and support, an increase from 29 per cent in 45 (including those mentioned above). Despite the previous stocktake. the cuts local authorities have faced over the last Technology could play a huge role in five years they clearly recognise the importance of prevention. For example, the UK’s National Weather continuing to invest in services that prevent, reduce Service, ‘Healthy Outlook’, is helping people with or delay the need for care and support. COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) Around 15 per cent spoke about ‘expanding or to self-manage their illness by sending warning enhancing existing services’ in light of the texts about local weather conditions and providing prevention duty. This ranged from redesigning simple health advice. While the evidence base is still services so that they are more preventative to emerging, the alerts should prove useful, ‘given that improving their accessibility. Reablement was extreme temperatures, humidity and/or viruses in the consistently included under this theme. Several local air can aggravate the ill health of people who have authorities described opening up these services to COPD and increase hospital admissions’.46 British Red Cross Prevention in action [email protected] 18 l l