During February 2025 a team from the Local Government Association (LGA) visited Bury Council to conduct an Adult Social Care Preparation for Assurance Peer Challenge at the local authority and with partners.
The challenge was to assess the ability of the adult social care service to deliver good services to people, as well as its preparedness for a Care Quality Commission (CQC) assessment.
The purpose of a peer challenge is to help an authority, and its partners assess current achievements, areas for development, and capacity to change.
Peer challenges are improvement focused and are not an inspection.
The peer team used their experience and knowledge of local government and adult social care to reflect on the information presented to them by people they met, and material that they read.
The team were on-site in Bury for three days from the 11–12 February 2025.
Feedback
The peer challenge team produced a feedback report which identifies our many strengths and also makes some suggestions for actions.
It found:
- A passionate and committed workforce
- A clear and well-articulated improvement journey
- Staff reported feeling well-equipped to carry out their roles effectively, with access to the necessary resources and support
- Strong and self-aware leadership and visible and approachable
- Financial commitment to adult social care
- Effective management of waiting lists
- Exemplary integration with health services
- Strong provider relationships and quality assurance
- Effective safeguarding partnership working
- Commitment to co-production
- Robust oversight of data, quality, and finance
Key recommendations
- Embedding safeguarding awareness across all teams
- Enhancing support and engagement for carers
- Embedding Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) across all teams
- Improving website accessibility and communication clarity
- Expanding commissioning beyond accommodation-based support
Preparation for Assurance Peer Challenge Report
The full report can be found here
