Virgin Care will run statutory adult social work services in Bath and North East Somerset from April 2017, in deal believed to be first of its type.
Richard Branson’s Virgin Care will run core adult social work services in Bath and North East Somerset after a £700m contract to reshape community health and social care services was approved last night.
The Conservative-controlled council voted 35-22 in favour of the deal. Earlier in the day the local NHS clinical commissioning group’s board voted unanimously in favour.
From April 2017, Virgin will run more than 200 services under the deal including three statutory services – adult social care, continuing healthcare and children’s community health. The deal marks the first time a privately-owned profit-making firm will deliver statutory adult social work functions.
Unlike in children’s services, there are no laws preventing councils from delegating statutory adult social work functions to profit-making providers.
But previous outsourcing deals by councils have only seen social work run by local authority-owned trading companies or not-for-profit social enterprises spun out of social services departments…..read more
Community Care: 11 November 2016
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