At IMPOWER, we are proud to work alongside the District Councils’ Network at a pivotal moment for two-tier local government. As discussions around local government reorganisation (LGR) gather momentum, adult social care (ASC) has emerged as one of the most complex, high-stakes challenges on the table – and one of the greatest opportunities for genuine transformation.

This report is written for district council representatives who find themselves at the forefront of these discussions, against a backdrop of wider reform under discussion via the Casey Commission and through widescale changes to the structure of the NHS. Many of you are being asked to engage with a service you don’t run directly, but which touches every corner of your place-based ambition – from housing and health, to community resilience and wellbeing.

Our message is that you are not outsiders to this system. In many respects, you are already active participants in it. Reorganisation is not easy. Navigating disaggregation, establishing safe transitions, and designing new delivery models will test even the most experienced leaders. But it also creates a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reset the system: to hardwire prevention into your local offer, to embed housing and community support into commissioning strategies, and to build ASC services that reflect the unique needs and strengths of local people.

This report is not a blueprint, because there is no one right answer. Instead, we offer a set of insights, frameworks and practical tools to help district leaders ask better questions, challenge assumptions, and make confident, well-informed choices as participants in a discussion about the future of adult social care in your area. Above all, we hope this work gives you the confidence to lead – not just to defend what already works well, but to shape something better. We are delighted to support you in building those systems for the future.

Sean Hanson
Chief Executive, IMPOWER Consulting