News & campaigns
Press Releases
ADASS Snap Survey 21 – rapidly deteriorating picture of Social Care Services
A snap survey of the state of social care services has revealed a rapidly deteriorating picture of hundreds of thousands of older and disabled people left waiting for help despite record increases in care being provided to people in their own homes. Directors of social services across England are expressing unprecedented alarm at the findings […]
30 June 2024
Press Releases
Stephen Chandler Speech to the National Children and Adult Services Conference
Stephen Chandler, ADASS President’s speech to the annual National Children and Adult Services Conference (NCASC), 24th November 2021 “Let me begin by playing a really big tribute and say ‘thank you’ to staff working in social care, to the unpaid carers, the volunteers, charities, care providers, council staff, elected members and the many organisations that […]
30 June 2024
Press Releases / Statements
Social Care Leaders urge MPs to consider fairness in charging reform
Cathie Williams, Chief Executive of ADASS (Association of Directors of Adult Social Services) wrote to MPs on Friday to urge them to consider fairness for people with modest needs in relation to proposed amendments to the Care Act 2014 provisions which cap people’s liability for care costs. Cathie Williams said: “How we pay for social […]
30 June 2024
Press Releases
Care Leaders Call on Govt to Award Care Workers Winter Bonus
Care leaders are calling on the government to award and fund a £1,000 bonus over the winter period for social care workers in England. The bonus would recognise the loyalty and dedication of care workers through the Covid-19 pandemic and would help stem the loss of skilled and experienced staff to other types of work. […]
30 June 2024
Press Releases / Statements
Chancellor must act to stabilise care and support
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak must take decisive action to stabilise care and support this winter in his Budget and spending review on Wednesday, ADASS president Stephen Chandler says. News that there will be further help of almost £6bn for the NHS, on top of the lion’s share of funds to be raised over […]
30 June 2024
Blog
Diary of a CQC assessment: Stage two- Mobilisation and evidence-gathering
From our experience, the CQC Assessment programme may be divided into a number of distinct stages over a period of up to 16 weeks. Of course, this timeline will no doubt be different once the formal assessment programme develops. We are all learning at this stage – both the CQC away-team and ourselves. Mobilisation and […]
30 June 2024
Blog
Diary of a CQC assessment: Stage three – Preparation for the onsite visit
Selecting people to be interviewed for the on-site visit was an area where attention was needed both in terms of selecting key stakeholders to participate, while keeping those not directly involved updated. In our case, the number of days and content of each day for the visit changed regularly – I suspect it will be […]
30 June 2024
Blog
Diary of a CQC assessment: Stage four – The onsite visit
The on-site visit lasted two intensive days with two days further for Teams interviews and there were up to three sets of interviews running each day. One point of note is that even after the on-site had ended and virtual meetings completed there were a number of follow up e-mails with information requests that arose […]
30 June 2024
Blog
Diary of a CQC assessment: Stage five & six – Reflection, feedback, initial findings and discussion
Stage 5 – reflection and feedback This stage was a moment for collective reflection (and a thank you) that I had built into the schedule at the end of the on-site week, which is entirely discretionary, but very much something I felt was right to do without really knowing if it would work to […]
30 June 2024
Blog
Diary of a CQC assessment: Stage five & six – Reflection, feedback, initial findings and discussion
Stage 5 – reflection and feedback This stage was a moment for collective reflection (and a thank you) that I had built into the schedule at the end of the on-site week, which is entirely discretionary, but very much something I felt was right to do without really knowing if it would work to […]
30 June 2024
Blog
Diary of a CQC assessment: Stage seven – Socialising the outcome and the action plan
Stage 5 – reflection and feedback This stage was a moment for collective reflection (and a thank you) that I had built into the schedule at the end of the on-site week, which is entirely discretionary, but very much something I felt was right to do without really knowing if it would work to […]
30 June 2024
Press Releases
ADASS’s new President, Melanie Williams’ keynote speech
It is with a sense of excitement, a little disbelief, and certainly with a huge amount of pride that I take up the Presidency of ADASS. We have an incredible impact on people in our communities. Particularly on people who face significant challenges in living a gloriously ordinary life, with the same freedoms and human […]
30 June 2024

Press Releases
ADASS Spring Survey 2023: Care waiting lists down but needs increasing
Social care teams make dent in waiting lists but more carer burnout and mental health needs means that fewer people are getting the support and care they need New findings from a survey of social care leaders shows short-term funding boosts from Government has helped reduce the number of people waiting for care and increased […]
28 June 2024
Press Releases
ADASS joint CEO To Step Down After A Decade
Cathie Williams, joint Chief Executive of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services will step down from the role in early summer, after almost ten years leading the organisation. Commenting on her contribution, Beverley Tarka, President of ADASS said: “Cathie has been instrumental in making ADASS the organisation it is today, and we are […]
10 June 2024
Blog
President’s Day 2024
On Thursday 23 May 2024, a President’s Day event was held to mark the inauguration of Melanie Williams as President-Elect 2024-25 of ADASS.
24 May 2024

Campaigns
Supporting Carers Hub
A storehouse of great ideas from social care teams and other organisations on how they’re improving support for unpaid carers.
24 April 2024

Blog
Best ways to empower Local Authorities with technology for better CQC ratings
ADASS Sponsored Content December 2023 Content written by The Access Group As we are all aware assessing how all local authorities meet their duties under part 1 of the Care Act 2014 is a new responsibility for the CQC. Over the past few months, the CQC have completed its pilot assessments and have released its […]
1 December 2023
Blog
Spring Seminar 2023: The Access Group’s Guide to Digital Technology for CQC Success
With the new CQC inspections on the horizon, this article discusses the power digital technology can have to deliver better care quality, mitigate risks, and streamline processes, whilst also delivering the evidence needed to help you achieve the best overall CQC rating possible. With the Spring Seminar just around the corner, we are delighted at […]
18 April 2023