Bromley Council's Executive has agreed to extend its partnership agreement with Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust for adult mental health social work services for a further two years, until November 2028. The extension, which will cost an estimated £3.8 million over the two-year period, aims to allow more time for further improvements in Care Act 2014 compliance and safeguarding arrangements.

The partnership, initially established under Section 31 of the Mental Health Act 1999, integrates social care and healthcare services to provide a seamless experience for residents. The current agreement was due to end in November 2026, but the need for further development in key areas has led to the recommendation for an extension.

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Progress has been made since the partnership review in 2023. This review identified several key areas requiring further action, including reviewing governance arrangements, ensuring a line of sight to the Bromley Assistant Director responsible for Safeguarding for assurance on cases referred to Oxleas, and ensuring all Care Act assessments, statutory reviews, Carers assessments, and Safeguarding enquiries by Oxleas practitioners are recorded on the Oxleas information system and shared with Bromley Council. The review also highlighted the need to provide seconded social work staff at Oxleas with the same access to the Bromley Council staff intranet and shared resources as Council social workers, and to clearly define the Head of Social Care role for Bromley at Oxleas. Furthermore, it was identified that non-social worker practitioners in Oxleas community services and Team Managers should undertake Care Act training, and jointly produced and agreed measurable targets for the introduction of co-production with service users and stakeholders were needed. Senior strategic officers were tasked with jointly identifying system pinch-points, such as at the Safeguarding referral stage and in categorising adults with complex needs, and producing written guidance to improve care pathways between partner organisations, including task transfer processes.

The two-year extension is specifically recommended due to progress made in implementing these review recommendations, including new governance arrangements and training programmes. However, areas still requiring further work are Care Act 2014 compliance and safeguarding.

The extension will enable Oxleas to continue its role as the lead provider, with the Council retaining oversight and assurance through ongoing monitoring and reporting. Beyond this, Bromley Council's oversight and assurance will be exercised through Oxleas' participation in new multi-agency safeguarding governance arrangements introduced in 2025, ensuring a line of sight to the Bromley Assistant Director responsible for Safeguarding for assurance purposes regarding the oversight of cases of concern. An audit programme with the Council's Principal Social Worker will support the development of care practice. A Practice and Assurance Group, alongside a performance data sub-group, will lead the development and delivery of joint improvement plans across the partnership. Consistent reporting of all agreed Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) within the existing contract, including timely and accurate data on Care Act Assessments, safeguarding activity, reviews, and carers' assessments in line with CQC requirements, will be maintained. Additionally, a comprehensive review will be undertaken to ensure current structures and escalation pathways are fully aligned with the London Borough of Bromley Adult Social Care Safeguarding Adults Governance Framework and Practice Governance and Assurance Framework.

Quarterly reporting on safeguarding timeliness measures, demonstrating significant progress in Section 42 decision-making within the 5-day target, improved compliance with the 60-day completion timescale and strengthened conversion rates, will be used to measure success. The implementation of a comparative 'triple-lock' audit process to review and quality assure a sample of safeguarding decisions, supporting greater consistency and oversight, is also in place. The establishment of a Practice and Assurance Group, alongside the performance data sub-group, further indicates a focus on measurable improvement.

The estimated cost of £3.8 million over the two-year extension period covers the continuation of Oxleas' role as the lead provider of adult mental health social work services, including operational management. The breakdown of the cost is as follows: Year 1 (2026/27): £0.6m (for 4 months, December to March); Year 2 (2027/28): £1.9m (for 12 months); and Year 3 (2028/29): £1.3m (for 8 months, April to November).

If full compliance with legislative requirements and service improvements are not achieved by November 2028, the Adult Social Care Service may need to make alternative arrangements for the delivery of the service. This extension provides time to further support Oxleas in its legislative compliance and service improvements, or if necessary, to allow time for alternative arrangements to be made.

This article is based on information presented in the Public reports pack Wednesday 24-Jun-2026 19.00 Executive.pdf.