Research and Report Briefings

Welcome to our Research and Report Briefings page, which contains short summaries of recently published research findings and other reports useful for practitioners working with adults. These briefings help you easily access key information about current topics with a link to the full published report.

They are listed under headings of the main relevant discipline or practice area. The most recent briefings to be added are highlighted in the blue box below.

Discipline / Practice Areas:

• Care Quality Commission (CQC)
• Government
• Health
• Integrated Health and Social Care
• Learning Disabilities
• Mental Health
• Safeguarding
• Social Care
• Society

Care Quality Commission (CQC)

Assessment of local authority adult services

• An overview of the Care Quality Commission (CQC) assessments of local authority adult services. The briefing covers what will happen over the coming year, what the assessments will look at and how evidence will be collected, scored and reported. It also summarises the Local Government Association’s 9 Top Tips.  One of the recommendations from the Test and Learn assessments with Manchester and Hampshire last year, was the importance of communicating with staff and partners about the process, so they know about the assessments and what to expect. Our briefing may be helpful with this.

Single Assessment Framework

This briefing looks at the the CQC Single Assessment Framework – What we know so far. Drawing together information from recent CQC publications and presentations, we summarise how the new the single assessment process will work, including the way evidence will be collected and assessed (October 2022).

Government

Working Definition of Trauma Informed Practice

This briefing, Trauma Informed Practice: A Working Definition, is a summary of guidance published by the Department of Health and Social Care in November 2022. The definition is for use by practitioners in health and social care services, when working to reduce the negative impact of trauma experiences and support mental and physical health outcomes. A summary of the key principles of trauma-informed practice is also provided.

Health

Heatwave Plan for England

There are two versions of the briefing about the Heatwave Plan for England, published by the UK Health Security Agency, the NHS, the Local Government Association and the Met Office in July 2022. We have written these for frontline practitioners: Heatwave Plan for England for Providers of Health and Social Care and Heatwave Plan for England for the Community and Voluntary Sector.

Integrated Health and Social Care Agenda

People First: Care Quality Commission

Our latest briefing is taken from People First, published by the Care Quality Commission, which is a resource for system and service providers in health and social care to help leaders during the urgent and emergency care system crisis.

Learning Disabilities

The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism

The Health and Care Act 2022 introduced a requirement for regulated service providers to ensure that their staff receive training on learning disability and autism which is appropriate to their role. The Oliver McGowan mandatory training on learning disability and autism is the government’s preferred and recommended training for staff to undertake

We have produced a briefing on The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism to provide information on the background to the training, what it aims to achieve and how it will be rolled out during 2023.

Mental Health

Right Care, Right Person: Changes to the Police Response to People with Mental Health Needs

Right Care, Right Person: Changes to the Police Response to People with Mental Health Needs is a summary of the National Partnership Agreement: Right Care, Right Person (RCRP) policy paper, published by the Department of Health and Social Care and the Home Office in July 2023.

Safeguarding

Safeguarding Adults Activity

This briefing, COVID-19 Adult Safeguarding Insight Project – Third Report is a summary of the report published by the LGA regarding safeguarding adults activity during the pandemic.

Social Care

Carers

This month’s briefing Identifying and Supporting Unpaid Carers, summarises recently published information from the Care Quality Commission and Local Government Association.

Modern slavery

This briefing summarises Who Cares? A Review of Reports of Exploitation in the Care Sector, published by Unseen in October 2023. The report focuses on the substantial increase in number of cases in the care sector which indicated labour abuse and forced labour; many of those involved foreign nationals.

Proportional Assessment Approaches

This briefing summarises a guide to proportional assessment approaches published by the Chief Social Worker for Adults and principal social workers in August 2023. The guide is a supplement to the Care and Support Statutory Guidance, and looks at ways in which professionals conducting adult social care (ASC) needs assessments should:

• use the flexibility within the Care Act 2014 to be innovative in practice; and
• consider a range of assessment approaches, to ensure the approach selected will achieve the best outcomes for people who need care and support.

Learning from the COVID-19 Pandemic

This month’s briefing is a summary of Building a Resilient Social Care System in England: What Lessons can be
Learnt from the First Wave of Covid-19? published by the Nuffield Trust in May 2023.

Society

Heatwave Plan for England

This month there are two versions of the Heatwave Plan for England briefing, published by the UK Health Security Agency, the NHS, the Local Government Association and the Met Office in July 2022. We have written these for frontline practitioners: Heatwave Plan for England for Providers of Health and Social Care and Heatwave Plan for England for the Community and Voluntary Sector.