Background and Context for Social Care Market for Adults with Lifelong Disabilities

3.1 Background

Care and support for adults with lifelong disabilities is provided by West Sussex County Council within relevant legislation, national policy and guidance and the County Council’s overall strategies, frameworks, and policies around adult social care and health and well-being.

3.2 Policy

For adults with lifelong disabilities, there are a number of national policy documents that influence our work including Building the right support, NHS England’s learning from lives and deaths programme (LeDeR), National strategy for autistic children, young people and adults and the National Disability Strategy. These documents highlight that adults with lifelong disabilities are more likely to experience poorer outcomes in health, employment, housing, well being and social participation than the general population and therefore need a whole system approach to deliver improvements.

Our work also reflects the values and aims of our Adult Social Care Commissioning Strategy and Social Care Futures to support people to live an ordinary life, in a place they call home, connected to their local community with people and things that they love.

3.3 Legal Duties

The council has duties to meet the needs of adults with lifelong disabilities through the Care Act 2014, the Equality Act 2010 and Mental Capacity Act 2005 which it fulfils.