From Provider to Enabler of Care? Reconfiguring Local Authority Support for Older People and Carers in Leeds, 2008 to 2013

Sue Yeandle

doi:10.1080/01488376.2015.1129015

Abstract

This article explores developments in the support available to older people and carers (i.e., caregivers) in the city of Leeds, United Kingdom, and examines provision changes during a period characterized by unprecedented resource constraint and new developments in national-local governance. Using documentary evidence, official statistics, and findings from recent studies led by the author, the effects of these changes on service planning and delivery and the approach taken by local actors to mitigate their impact are highlighted. The statistical data show a marked decline in some types of services for older people during a 5-year period during which the city council took steps to mobilize citizens and develop new services and system improvements. The analysis focuses on theories of social quality as a framework for analysis of the complex picture of change related to service provision. It concludes that although citizen involvement and consultations exerted a positive influence in delivering support to some older people and carers, research over a longer timescale is needed to show if these changes are adequate to protect older people and carers from the effects of ongoing budgetary constraints.

Highlights

This article explores developments in the city of Leeds, United Kingdom, in the period 2008–2013 and their impact on the support available to older people and carers.1 It focuses on a period of significant change, involving substantial new resource constraints, alterations in the relationship between central and local government, and a shift in national policy affecting people who receive welfare payments
Assisting older people with social care needs is a statutory responsibility for local authorities in England,2 and, in Leeds for its city council, across the country support and services for older people and for carers is often delivered through contractual commissioning arrangements between local authorities and voluntary or private sector organizations and, in some cases, with parts of the National Health Service (NHS)
Already committed to providing more care outside residential or hospital settings, and in Leeds the city council already had a policy of supporting carers and of increasing the use of assistive technology to help older people remain independent at home (DH, 2006; 2010a, 2010b)

Summary

Introduction

This article explores developments in the city of Leeds, United Kingdom, in the period 2008–2013 and their impact on the support available to older people and carers.1 It focuses on a period of significant change, involving substantial new resource constraints, alterations in the relationship between central and local government, and a shift in national policy affecting people who receive welfare payments.

Results

Conclusion