techUK at the 2024 National Children and Adult Services Conference!

techUK's Health and Social Care Team visited Liverpool to attend the 2024 National Children and Adult Services Conference!

The event provided an opportunity to reflect on the latest opportunities and challenges faced by child and adult social care services across the country. The team also caught up with several techUK members including Sentinel Partners, Agilisys and System C.

A variety of workshops saw updates from regions including:

Durham Council, who shared their progress on a residential housing expansion project (following £6.2 million capital investment). The project was designed to better meet the needs of local children and young people living with learning difficulties, autism and other mental health conditions.
Manchester Council showcased their Better Outcomes, Better Lives adult care reform programme which aims to “prevent, reduce and delay” demand on adult social care services and provide the right services at the right time to improve peoples’ lives. They have demonstrated significant return on investment from their use of technology, and there has been a significant increase in the number of support plans which encompass technology.
Norfolk Council showcased their digital inclusion strategy and vision to “provide local residents with digital access opportunities to meet their needs and enable them to be digitally included in all aspects of their lives".

Keynote speeches and panel discussions during the conference included:

An address by the Minister for Care, Stephen Kinnock, who advocated for cross-party collective action to tackle social care reform and outlined the Government’s Vision for Social Care. This included setting out plans for £22 million funding to support the scaling of innovations through the Government’s Accelerating Reform Fund.
Reflections from Melanie Williams, President, Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS), who highlighted persisting variation in the quality of social care services and practice across the country, resulting in good practice being confined to specific areas and not scaled. She spoke of the significant potential benefits offered by increasing the use of technology within care.
Vic Rayner, CEO, National Care Forum, reflected on the anticipated impact of the Autumn Budget’s budgetary changes on the care sector, including the rises in Employers’ National Insurance Contributions and National Living Wage. She cited the Nuffield Trust’s latest analysis which estimates the consequent additional cost burden to the social care sector to be £2.8bn. Vic also discussed priority areas for care reform, including: the need for governmental mainstreaming of social care across multidisciplinary delivery areas such as skills development, apprenticeships, housing, and transport; the increasing recognition of social care in academic research (as evidenced by recent NIHR grants; the outstanding need to address the pay and conditions of the care workforce; the the vital impact of the voluntary sector as a key enabler of providing community-based, preventative care and support to citizens.
Anna Severwright, Co-Convenor, Social Care Future, highlighted the impact of viewing technology as a way of enriching lives, and not just a means to enable efficiency and cost savings.

Several opportunities and challenges for the care sector were discussed throughout the conference, such as:

The potential impact of digital tools such as artificial intelligence, including the need to ensure the safe, ethical use of AI-driven technologies, as well as how digital and data should underpin models of care and strength relationships, rather than be a siloed adjunct.
The need to address the pay and conditions of the social care workforce, with Skills for Care’s National Social Care Workforce Strategy setting out options to do so.

To find out more about how techUK is supporting digital transformation in social care settings and local authorities, check out:

techUK’s Five Point Plan for CareTech
techUK's Local Public Services Programme
Get in touch with the Health and Social Care Team below.

Health and Social Care Programme activities

techUK is helping its members navigate the complex space of digital health in the UK to ensure our NHS and social care sector is prepared for the challenges of the future. We help validate new ideas and build impactful strategies, ultimately ensuring that members are market-ready. Visit the programme page here.