“Focus on the Opportunities that face us”

Inaugural Address of Glen Garrod, President of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services

Remarks delivered 10.00 AM, Thursday 12 April, 2018

CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY

A few months ago, a colleague encouraged me to have

“a bit of swagger” about what we do, and how we help

people in social care. So, despite the challenging and

uncertain world in which we live, allow me to begin my

presidency with a statement of pride and hope.

To the people who currently work in social care, those

who have worked in it and those who will follow us: you

know the difference you can make, what you have

achieved and what you can and will achieve in the

future. Not just for individual people - but for a society

1

which is so badly in need of our values, our ability to

help bind society together.

So, colleagues: when you leave this room, let's have a

bit of swagger about you.

When I sat down to write this speech, I began to worry. I

worried I did not have enough time to write anything

meaningful or profound. As I sat trying to put pen to

paper, I realised that I have actually been writing this –

my first Presidential speech - for over 40 years.

In many ways, today represents a point of reflection. In

remembering what brought me here, I see the influences

that will guide my presidency, and the opportunities I

hope to set out for ADASS in the year ahead.

2

My first experience of caring for others goes back to

when I was very young indeed. As a child, I was the

chief “splinter puller-outer” for the Garrod household.

My father, who worked in a factory, would often come

home with brass filings embedded deep into his hands.

He would arrive through the door, soak his hands in

warm water and sit patiently as I worked on removing

the filings. He died nearly 40 years ago and it is his

hands I can still see most clearly - calloused and badly

scarred.

When my grandfather, who spent his working life “down

the pit”, came home, he used to sit in a tin bath in front

of the fire, covered in coal-dust and coughing. When I

saw the dedication to their families that both my father

3

and grandfather demonstrated, I began to think that the

term “hero” could apply to a lot of different kinds of

people. It certainly applied to them, as it did to so many

of their generation – men and women - who sacrificed to

provide for their families.

Later, when I was a teenager, I read “heroes” by John

Pilger. In these pages, I would find the description I was

looking for: “It is in ordinary people’s lives where

heroism is to be found.”

We saw that so vividly just a few weeks ago when the

extraordinary weather conditions brought out the very

best in people who work in our sector. Not least on my

home patch in Lincolnshire, where at one point all the

county’s major roads were blocked, people – “ordinary

4

people’’, 'social care workers’ went to astonishing

lengths to ensure that the most vulnerable in our

communities received a visit and care and support

services were maintained. Truly they were heroes.

And we see this heroism, too, day in day out, in the

essential contribution made to our society by unpaid,

informal carers. In the time, care and attention they pour

into helping others live independent lives in the

community, in the daily sacrifices they make,

representing the very best of all of us. Let us

acknowledge that today, and pledge to find as many

opportunities as possible in the coming year to support

carers live the lives they wish for, and have the

recognition they deserve.

5

But caring effectively has to involve looking at the whole

person – and that means that their background and life

circumstances, hopes and dreams cannot be ignored.

After University, I worked as a Community Service

Volunteer with young people and poor families in

Manchester. It was here that I witnessed the impact that

being locked out of society can have on a life. I

witnessed first-hand the riots in Moss Side, which laid

bare the dangers of leaving an area to disaffection and

dissonance.

In an area where so many people had been left to fend

for themselves, it seemed to me the most important

thing to do was get close to people, to listen and

understand. This has been a guiding influence on my

professional life and will be in my presidency.

6

I have had the privilege of “getting close to” lots of

incredible people throughout my career – most often

people overcoming extremely difficult circumstances and

choosing nonetheless to enjoy life. Most people

confronted with poverty, disability, or illness – regardless

of age, are still determined to live as fulfilling and

meaningful a life as possible. Let us remember that as

we move forward into the next year, and use that to

keep us motivated.

As I continue to outline the influences on me, I am

especially mindful of my experiences working in what

was then Bombay, in India, immediately after I qualified

(CQSW for those who can remember what that means).

I practised “social work” helping people in a slum

7

clearance area that housed over 100,000 people on a

plot about the size of two football pitches.

The homes were about 4 square metres, and were

made out of plastic sheets and whatever other materials

could be found. This time profoundly shaped my views:

despite the extreme poverty and challenges they faced,

the people who lived there were proud and passionate

and lived life as fully as possible. That spirit humbled me

at the time, continues to inspire me now, and will help

motivate me to be as effective a servant of social work

and social care in this country as I can be.

And now for the radical part – where I outline my

priorities for the coming year.

8

There are none.

It is not my intention to focus on any particular priorities.

Instead I want to present you with a series of

opportunities, and this is a year that should provide

plenty of them. The calendar for the coming year is filled

with sector-defining agendas; the forthcoming Green

Paper, any moves the Government may or may not

make to support Carers; and the Fair Funding Review,

will all rightly concern us.

Making sure we get what we want out of these

developments will be a challenge, but I am an

incorrigible optimist, as my family will tell you. I always

9

look for a silver lining, and I am determined to focus on

the opportunities that face us.

Supported Housing is one of those opportunities. We

can achieve much more in this area.

Housing is the place where one begins to provide a

chance for a more independent, dare I say 'ordinary', life

for people with profound disabilities, irrespective of

whether they are young people transitioning to

adulthood or part of the Transforming Care Programme.

It is my view that upper-tier councils must take the lead

in constructing strategic plans that encompasses all the

supported housing needs in an area. With our District

Council, housing providers and health colleagues we

can achieve much more but only if we work more closely

10

together. ADASS will continue to support authorities in

putting such plans together, and encourage the very

best practice in this area.

The next opportunity stems from how digital technology

can enable care and support to be more heavily

influenced and shaped by those who need it and, to be

truly personalised. We need a transformative digital

offer, which affords people the information and advice to

self-assess and commission online.

We need to make it easier for people buying their own

services, or who wish to connect with others seeking to

do the same irrespective of whether they need state

funding or have their own means using their own

creativity and entrepreneurial instincts.

11

Shifting society from thinking about social care when

people are in need of it to a situation where they can

pre-empt their care needs ahead of time is essential.

Digital platforms that enable people to plan are

essential. This is a huge, potentially transformative

opportunity for social care, and ADASS will play its part

in encouraging local councils and the wider sector to

harness digital technologies to support people to find

their own solutions and, for those who do not or cannot

do this then to manage their needs as effectively as

possible.

My third opportunity lies in telling our story. Those of you

who were here last year will remember what Sir David

Behan told us – that social care can not afford to be

seen through the prism of the NHS, and that a greater

12

understanding of social care by the wider public is

essential. All too often Social Care is lost in the

language of DTOCs, Critical Pathways, and

Commissioning, when what it is actually concerned with

is the aspirations and wishes of people who need our

help, advice and support to achieve. Whether it’s the

young adult with a profound disability or the grandparent

with dementia, social care is there for us when we are at

our most vulnerable. Helping the public to understand

our contribution is perhaps our single most important

task over the next year. They are the force for change to

be reckoned with, the power to be harnessed.

This means encouraging the people who benefit from

our services to talk, about the impact – at times in a truly

transformative way that social care has had on their

13

lives. This is a major opportunity for the next year –

campaigning for the change social care needs through

engaging the wider public.

My fourth and final opportunity surrounds what I

suppose I must call integration. Only when we provide

care, in combination with our colleagues in housing,

health and care, that sees people in the round, can we

truly ensure we are honouring the things that bring us

into social care: a better chance for people who would

not otherwise have one, care for the most vulnerable

and, a society that understands the importance of what

we do.

We’ve heard recently about the level of ambition that

there is for personal budgets within the National Health

14

Service. Personalisation is our space, we cannot

stagnate and watch other areas pass us by. There can

be no excuses. This explosion of opportunities to

expand personalisation is within our gift to reinforce and

rejuvinate and it is essential that we deliver.

The potential for people with their own budget, whether

solely or in groups, to have a positive and disruptive

impact on the market for social care has not yet

happened at any sort of scale as it must. We

desperately need to see 'creative disruption' in social

care, and in order to do that, we must encourage many

more people to manage their care according to their own

needs and desires.

15

Accordingly, it’s essential that over the coming year we

figure out what we are going to do about integration. It is

now part of the familiar language we all use though I do

not like the word.

It’s too easy to say, and it says too little about why it is

important. Progress is possible however, even between

the two “leaky buckets” of health and social care. It

seems to me the best way to approach this issue is to

look at it from the point of view of the person who needs

us. After all, isn’t that what we are all trying to achieve?

We must look through the telescope from the other end

to succeed. I myself have taken the message of

integration between health and social care to heart,

literally, by marrying a GP!

16

However, any relationship, personal or professional,

depends on differences being respected, working

alongside one another, and recognising that sometimes

disagreement is helpful. This “critical friend” relationship

is one that ADASS will develop with the NHS over the

course of my presidency.

I hope that sets out some of the opportunities that I see

for ADASS over the coming year.

It has been a privilege to work in the social care sector

for over 30 years. It has given so much to me, from my

first steps as a community service volunteer to my role

as a director of social services, and I hope now to repay

that debt through my service to you as your president.

17

I stand before you today honoured to be an ambassador

for the sector and as a determined campaigner, hoping

to influence those with the power to make decisions

towards wiser, longer term, and more sustainable

solutions for the very many people in our country that

truly need social care to be the best it can possibly be. I

am immensely grateful and humbled by the privilege of

this responsibility, and I will work hard every day over

the next year to ensure that your trust is well-placed.

And now a message for those of you who will go back

to face serious resource and funding challenges and do

the best you can to square the circle in meeting needs

within limited resources. This role is challenging. But

local government in general and social care in particular

have the advantage of being close to communities,

18

being of those communities and able to take decisions

where the consequences are clear to us because of our

perspective and our roots.

We have the ability to 'shape place', to coordinate and

lead in our communities to deliver bespoke solutions

that best reflect local needs.

These are outcomes that national government and

national bodies are less well placed to deliver – or even

imagine. Let us seize our advantage with both hands:

celebrate our successes – yes, let’s see a bit of swagger

– and campaign positively and confidently for the

changes and the resources we so desperately need.

As I come into this office, I am humbled by the work of

those who have previously occupied it. It has been an

19

honour and a pleasure to support the President during

this last year. Margaret has been an exceptional role

model. From moving social care into the media limelight

to progressing the areas she cared deeply about, her

impact cannot be overstated. As a person, she has also

been an incredibly useful guide to me, and the joy I have

found in her company has made what can be

challenging work so much more enjoyable.

However, this organisation is about so much more than

its President. Cathie, you really are the glue that holds

ADASS together. We Presidents are here but one year,

but you and the team you lead, from Andriana to Julie to

Hilary to all of you who support the organisation, keep it

running and campaigning over time. Thank you for your

service, support and wisdom.

20

I would also like to thank the Leader, Executive

Councillors and all my colleagues at Lincolnshire County

Council for supporting me so that I can take up this

Presidency, and perhaps most of all my PA, Katrin, who

over six years has managed to make me look far more

organised and capable than I actually am!

Finally, I’d like to thank you. If you’re in this room,

whatever your role - be you consultant, correspondent or

campaigner, you are making a choice to make a

difference to the development of social care in our

country. As we move into the next year and look at the

opportunities we face as a sector, let us remember the

impact effective social care can have on the people we

serve and our communities. By focusing on the

21

opportunities we have, we can increase that impact, and

build a future for social care we can truly be proud of.

ENDS

22