This report seeks a decision from the Cabinet Member of Adults, Health and Wellbeing on proposals for change to community activities and day centres for working age and older adults with Care Act eligible needs.

That:

a) The council introduce a new model of delivery across all of Adult Social Care

Community Activities, through a two year implementation period, as outlined in

the Community Activity Strategy 2026 - 2028; and 

b) The closure of St Owen’s Hub, Hereford is approved.; and

c) The closure of Shaw Healthcare Day Centre provision at Waverley House,

Leominster, Orchard House, Withington and Woodside, Ross on Wye, and the

linked Woodside crisis accommodation service is approved. ; and

d) All contractual and operational decisions relating to the new Community

Activities model and the closure of the above provisions are delegated to the

Corporate Director for Community Wellbeing, including decisions on

implementation, contract variation and transition planning.

Option 1: Do nothing. This option is not recommended as it would leave the current under utilisation of day centres and community activities unaddressed. It would also fail to provide people with a coherent offer that supports greater flexibility, choice and control, and would continue to represent poor value for money across a number of sites.

Option 2: Remodel the services for older adults by using only the framework to deliver change for both working age adults and older adults. This option is also not recommended. The council’s current Community Activity Framework allows individual call-offs under a user choice contract, for services aimed at individuals mainly of working age with eligible care and support needs. It has been in place for nearing two years and, although it has provided a degree of stability across the market for providers currently delivering services for working age adults, providers have reported that it has not generated the anticipated flow of new participants. The available data and engagement findings, as set out in the Herefordshire Community Activity Strategy 2026-28 indicate that individuals are increasingly choosing to move away from traditional commissioned services and want greater control over how their support is delivered. Wider trends across adult social care suggest that this pattern extends across all adult cohorts. Reopening the framework to include provision for older adults would therefore not deliver the scale of transformation required across the county.

Option 3: Retain the day centres, and only remodel the services for working age adults. This option is not recommended as it would retain the current under-utilised building-based model for older adults, continue to incur disproportionate fixed estate and staffing costs, and fail to deliver the scale of transformation, flexibility and best value required across the whole system.

Option 4: Remodel services for both working age and older adults while retaining all day centres and the St Owen’s Hub. This option is not recommended as it would not be possible to deliver within the available financial envelope. Continued under-utilisation across building-based services would require a disproportionate level of funding to be retained in fixed estate and staffing costs, limiting the council’s ability to redirect resources towards a more flexible, community-based offer that better reflects assessed need, choice and control.

Option 5: Remodel services for both working age and older adults while retaining some day centres at one or more sites as a reduced hub-based offer. This option is not recommended as the available trend data and engagement findings, set out in the Herefordshire Community Activity Strategy 2026 - 2028 document indicate a sustained move away from traditional building-based OFFICIAL services, with individuals increasingly seeking more flexible, personalised and community-based support. Retaining one or more sites would continue to direct a disproportionate level of funding towards fixed estate and staffing costs for a model that is not aligned with current patterns of demand, limiting the council’s ability to invest in an offer that better reflects assessed need, choice and control.