How we assess local authorities

Assessment start date: 11 May 2023

Assessment published: 17 November 2023

Assessing how local authorities meet their duties under Part 1 of the Care Act (2014) is a new responsibility for CQC. We have been piloting our approach to these new assessments in 5 local authorities who volunteered to participate. Our assessment of Lincolnshire County Council was part of the pilots. We will be incorporating any learning from the pilots and evaluation into our formal assessment approach.

About Lincolnshire County Council

Demographics

The population is currently 755,833, with approximately 30% of people over the age of 65 and a projection for the trend towards an increase in older people set to continue.

Lincolnshire County Council area covers 7 districts and is the fourth most rural county in England.

The Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) for the overall area is 4 (10 is the most deprived). There are variations in deprivation across the area.

There are 9 ‘communities of interest’ identified as the groups of people most at risk of health and social care inequalities.

Financial facts

• The local authority estimated that in 2022/23, its total budget would be £895,817,000. Its actual spend for that year was £917,896,000, which was £22,079,000 more than estimated.
• The local authority estimated that it would spend £230,464,000 of its total budget on adult social care in 2022/23 Its actual spend was £234,568,000, which is £4,104,000 more than estimated.
• In 2022/2023, 26% of the budget was spent on adult social care.
• The local authority has raised the full adult social care precept for 2022/23 and 2023/24. Please note that the amount raised through adult social care precept varies from local authority to local authority.
• Approximately 10,495 people were accessing long-term adult social care support, and approximately 2,350 people were accessing short-term adult social care support in 2022/23. Local authorities spend money on a range of adult social care services, including supporting individuals. No two care packages are the same and vary significantly in their intensity, duration, and cost.

This data is reproduced at the request of the Department of Health and Social Care. It has not been factored into our assessment and is presented for information purposes only.