Foreword
Foreword by the portfolio holder
Welcome to our Adult Social Care strategy for 2026-2028 for Lincolnshire. This two-year strategy sets out our ambitious commitments to improve outcomes for people as well as ensure value for money for the public purse. I recognise that Adult Social Care, in common with all public services, is under significant pressure from rising demand and costs.
Lincolnshire has a growing aging population. Economic inequality due to long-term ill-health is also rising amongst adults of working age. People living in our more deprived communities may face greater barriers to living independently. We also have a growing number of unpaid carers, who provide immense care and support to their loved ones, yet often are themselves aging. I want to acknowledge and applaud the massive contribution carers, paid and unpaid, make to our county. There is an urgent need to protect and strengthen the community and voluntary sector services who are the custodians of universal support and ultimately of people’s wellbeing.
My ambition is to empower people to lead healthy, independent lives through innovative, person-centred, cost-effective services. I am committed to addressing over-reliance on social care by shifting from risk-averse practices to a strengths-based approach that encourages positive risk taking, avoids or delays the need to access formal care, and focuses on what individuals can achieve with family and community support.
This cultural shift will be challenging, but it will enhance our ability to transform issues such as workforce shortages, financial pressures, and integration gaps from being problems into being opportunities. Enhancing digital innovation, strengthening partnerships, and co-producing strategies with colleagues, NHS partners, voluntary sector bodies, carers, and (especially) people who draw on care and support, will be vital to achieving this.
We are focused on reducing health and economic inequalities. By listening actively and fostering collaboration, we can elevate care professionals, support unpaid carers, and develop market-shaping to promote self-reliance, improve lives, bolster communities and drive economic growth in Lincolnshire.
I would like to thank our residents who draw on care and support, carers, staff and members of the Adult Care and Public Health Scrutiny Committee for their contributions in shaping this strategy.
I commend this strategy to the council and to the people of Lincolnshire.
Councillor Steve Clegg
Executive Councillor for Adult Care and Health
Foreword by the executive director
As the statutory Director of Adult Social Services (DASS) for Lincolnshire, I am proud to present our Adult Social Care Strategy. We have developed this statement to reflect our collective commitment to delivering high-quality, person-centred care, with the goal of enabling people to lead the lives they choose, as full members of the communities they live in. It sets out our vision and values, our ambition and commitment, and our accountability to the people of Lincolnshire.
This strategy highlights the progress we have made, especially over the two years since we were first inspected by the Care Quality Commission. We have sought to be frank and self-aware about the challenges we continue to face. We have set out the actions we are taking to improve what we do, and we have been honest about the level of progress achieved: excellent in some areas, more work to do in others.
As ever, our focus remains on enabling people to live independent, fulfilling lives, drawing where needed on services that are compassionate, responsive, and rooted in co-production. Through these means, we seek to avoid or reduce people developing needs that require formal care, and hence to ensure our services are financially sustainable.
The strength of this strategy lies in the voices behind it. This is not simply what we think of ourselves. The strategy has in part been co-produced with people who draw on care and support, unpaid carers, and practitioners, and has been written in consultation with elected members and partners across our system. Their insights have shaped our understanding and have sharpened our priorities. We are embedding a culture of learning and improvement, underpinned by robust data and analysis, strong governance, and a clear vision for the future.
I want to thank all my colleagues across Adult Social Care for their dedication and resilience, and our partners for their collaboration. Together, we are building a system that listens, learns, and delivers for Lincolnshire people.
Martin Samuels
Executive Director for Adult Care and Community Wellbeing