Policy paper

Annex A - list of priority outcomes and expectations for local authorities: 2026 to 2027

Published 18 December 2025

Applies to England

Priority outcome 1

People who draw on care and support, and their carers, experience  high-quality adult social care provided by a skilled workforce  

Everyone who draws on adult social care should be able to access safe, responsive care that meets their needs, respects their rights, and enables independence and a better quality of life.

To improve the quality of care and ensure a rewarded, valued and professionalised workforce, local authorities should: 

• commission sustainable services with a focus on individual outcomes and quality of care, applying the features of good commissioning practices to local contexts, and maintaining up-to-date published commissioning strategies that are person centred, place based and outcomes driven, drawing upon relevant evidence
• set fee rates at a sustainable level, in line with commissioning priorities, to help shape markets and enable adult social care providers to recruit a skilled workforce and stabilise and improve workforce capacity, and in preparation for employment rights reforms, starting from financial year 2026, and the fair pay agreement, starting in financial year 2028
• work with providers to embed a national workforce career structure through the care workforce pathway for adult social care, aligning with national roll-out by DHSC and Skills for Care
• monitor adult social care waiting times, concentrating on managing timely placements - from request or referral to the start of support - for those with complex needs, and ensuring overall waiting lists are managed to enable better access to care
• increase use of data and explore adoption of digital technologies to improve service design, assessment processes and experiences
• work closely with local partners to put in place a multi-agency safeguarding approach with systems, processes and practices to keep people safe from abuse, bullying, harassment, discrimination, avoidable harm and neglect at all stages of their care and support journeys

Priority outcome 2

People who draw on care and support are supported to promote their independence, where possible, and have choice and control over their support

Everyone drawing on care and support, and their families and carers, should be genuine partners in decisions on care and support, with their preferences guiding every step.

To allow individuals to live independent lives with choice and control, local authorities should: 

• co-produce care and support plans with people and their families to give people more choice and control in their care and support, enabling them to achieve the outcomes that matter most to them. This may include offering independent service funds or greater access to direct payments where appropriate
• work with sector partners (including health partners, community partners and voluntary, community and social enterprise partners) to deliver preventative services in the community to avoid the need for care and support. Where care or support is needed, provide this earlier to prevent needs from escalating, considering best use of care technology and targeted falls prevention, to reduce the development of longer-term care needs and the risk of unplanned hospital admissions
• work with housing partners to ensure that people with care and support needs have appropriate and safe housing options, considering the best use of home adaptations and supported housing
• increase support for unpaid carers to help them maintain their own wellbeing, and co-ordinate and sustain care for their loved ones, ensuring they are actively involved in care planning
• co-ordinate early transition planning for young people from the age of 14 onwards, where they are likely to have eligible care and support needs upon reaching adulthood. This should involve a transitions assessment and engagement with relevant agencies across health, social care and education

Priority outcome 3

People who draw on care and support experience joined-up health and social care services at a neighbourhood level 

People should experience joined-up and seamless services across health and social care - as set out in the 10 Year Health Plan for England: fit for the future - that help individuals stay independent for longer, sustaining their wellbeing and enabling them to have a better quality of life with fuller participation in society.

To support this, local authorities should: 

• co-develop neighbourhood health plans with the NHS, wider council services (such as public health), other local partners and the local population. As part of this, they should agree with integrated care boards how to use funding pooled under the reformed Better Care Fund (BCF) to deliver these services. Further information about neighbourhood health planning and the reform of the BCF will be published shortly
• develop more integrated health and social care services for:
  • the whole of the local population - align social care, public health, children’s services, and wider services that support people’s health and wellbeing (such as education, housing, finance, employment support and community activities) to support individuals holistically and closer to where they live, work or go to school
  • people who are already drawing on care and support - develop multidisciplinary teams for people with more complex health and care needs, embedding personalised care planning, integrated care records, and safe and appropriate use of delegated healthcare activities by care professionals
  • people with short-term rehabilitation, reablement and recovery needs - work with the NHS to agree integrated arrangements for assessing and meeting people’s needs, enabling them to regain their independence, supporting timely and effective hospital discharge, and reducing unnecessary hospital or long-term residential or nursing home admissions