Better Care Fund Support Programme 2023-25: Programme partners joint learning and insights report

As we embark on delivering a new improvement Support Programme for 2025-26, the funding and delivery partners have decided to produce this joint report capturing the key insights from delivery of support, including what enables change to embed, challenges encountered and recommendations for future improvement efforts.

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We know that delivery of health and social care services operates on an immense, multifaceted scale. Although the complexity and challenges of managing and delivering health and social care, in an integrated way, are widely recognised, there remains limited clarity about the full extent and nature of this complexity. Embedding progressive and sustainable development and improvement of services across whole systems (and sub-systems within sub-systems) of this nature is a significantly challenging undertaking for system leaders, the workforce and policymakers. This is especially true at a time of financial constraints, rising expectations of and demand for services, as well as workforce pressures.

The 2023-25 Better Care Fund Support Programme, delivered by a partnership of the LGA, ADASS and Newton and funded by DHSC, MHCLG and NHSE, aimed to support local areas to improve health and social care services through integration. Delivering such a Support Programme has provided us with valuable insights and learning. As we embark on delivering a new improvement Support Programme for 2025-26, the funding and delivery partners have decided to produce this joint report capturing the key insights from delivery of support, including what enables change to embed, challenges encountered and recommendations for future improvement efforts.

Our aim is to enhance understanding of what it takes to embed improvement in health and social care systems. The insights highlight the need to avoid treating health and social care as linear sets of services and start embracing their dynamic, interdependent nature. This work promotes a culture of collaboration, particularly suited to addressing persistent, multi-dimensional challenges and ensuring that improvements are lasting.

Our experience has shown that lasting improvement in health and social care systems depends on creating the right conditions for success across four interconnected domains described by Dr Daniel Kim: the quality of relationships, the quality of thinking, the quality of actions and the quality of results. We explore this in more detail within the report, but below we outline key themes that have emerged through the delivery of the Support Programme.

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"We would like to sincerely thank all of the health and social care systems, teams and individuals who we have collaborated with in the improvement Support Programme during the past two years. Their engagement, commitment, openness and willingness to share experiences and resolve challenges have been vital to the Programme’s success. The insights and learning contributed not only shaped the outcomes achieved but is informing future efforts to drive improvement across the sector. The collaboration and dedication of colleagues to making a difference is appreciated and has left a lasting impact." 
 - The Better Care Fund Support Programme Partners