Welcome to the State of Our Nation podcast. We recorded this episode in the run up to Christmas 2024 with Anna Severwright, Kari Gerstheimer and guest, James Bullion, former director of Adult Services at Norfolk and president of ADASS, also DHSC lead for social care discharges and recently, interim Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care at CQC.

This omnibus edition of the podcast looks backwards over the past year as well as taking a look forward into 2025. The team also discuss Access Social Care's ongoing legal case surrounding freedom of information requests for transparency in social care funding. James lends his support by saying: "I'd certainly recognise as a regulator, this issue of transparency, being really clear about what the evidence is, has got to be your starting base for how you make a case. And then for us as a regulator pointing out once a year to Parliament what the deficit is, and we'll certainly do that as we go through the next year."

The episode begins with Anna asking James to reflect on the legacy of the last administration and ends with his 3 wishes for social care; "money for prevention, sort the workforce out, give a bit more local control".

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Anna Severwright and Kari Gerstheimer talk about the why language matters with Bryony Shannon.

They explore how the language we use within and about social care exposes and perpetuates our attitudes and behaviours, and consider how we can create safe spaces for people to challenge language together so we can co-produce more inclusive expressions to describe social care terms.

Find out more about Bryony’s work here:

https://rewritingsocialcare.blog/

Legal Tips: There is no such thing as a magic wand but there are magic words.

Listen from 25 minutes for this section.

There is no such thing as a magic wand but there are magic words. Listen to this section to help you spot when you need to use a phrase to transform your social care outcomes.

• Watch out for blanket statements in conversations like "we don't do that here". This may be unlawful as they suggest the local authority is not addressing the needs of the individual which is a requirement under the Care Act. If you hear a problematic statement like this ask for it in writing to create a paper trail.
• "Willing and able" - if a carer is not ‘willing or able’ to continue to provide care or a level of care they do not have to and the local authority has to step in.

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Anna Severwright and Kari Gerstheimer discuss the importance of 'people power' in social care and how lived experiences can and should shape decision-making.

They share insights on co-production and the need for genuine involvement of individuals in service design, highlighting positive examples from councils like Hammersmith and Fulham. Anna reflects on the challenges faced in advocating for change and emphasises the value of peer support and preparation in navigating social care assessments.

Top Tips: Local Authority Assessments

Vicky Hughes is a legal case worker at Access Social Care with a background in social work, having worked on a community learning disability team.

She brings her knowledge and experience working in this area to offer some great tips on how to prepare for assessments to present a strong case for consideration.

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