Cheshire West and Chester Council to bring adult social care in-house

The decision to bring adult social care back in-house is not a criticism of any services, the council says

A council is to bring its adult social care provider back in-house, eight years after it was outsourced to its own company.

Cheshire West and Chester Council started using Vivo, a company it wholly owns, in 2013.

The authority said the transfer would happen from April 2022.

A spokesman said all staff would be transferred to the council and people being cared for and their carers would see no difference in services.

Councillor Val Armstrong, the cabinet's member for adult social care and public health, said the rationale for delivering through an arm's length company was "no longer clear" and a realistic assessment of the model was the best way.

She added the decision to bring services back in-house was not a criticism of the company.

A report to councillors said an in-house model would "better enable the council to respond flexibly to the health and care transformation agenda".

It added that when the company was set up, it was expected the care market would become "increasingly fragmented and difficult for the council to operate in".

"The shift towards greater personalisation and direct payments has not emerged on the scale anticipated and this has impacted on the available market for the company, limiting growth," the report said.

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