Taking the strategy forward
This strategy sets out a shared direction for improving outcomes for unpaid carers in York.
Delivery will be supported by an action plan that includes specific actions, timescales, and responsibilities across partners. We will review and update the action plan regularly to reflect progress, learning, and changing needs. This will build on what is already working well and address areas that need to improve. It will be linked to other plans partners are working on to support carers.
Delivery of this strategy will include evaluation and service improvement, guided by carers’ lived experience. This will include reviewing how we identify, assess and support carers, how commissioned services operate, and how carers and staff experience the processes they encounter.
Monitoring progress and learning
We will monitor our progress through agreed measures of success and regular reporting. We will also include specific measures within our action plan. We will review and refine these measures over time as data quality improves, and learning emerges. They will be used to understand progress rather than to set rigid targets.
What we learn will inform ongoing improvement. This could be from:
- feedback from carers
- service reviews and inspections
- changes in local or national context
- learning through delivering the strategy
We will review the strategy annually to ensure it remains relevant, responsive, and focused on what matters most to carers. The action plan will be reviewed at the Carers Strategy Group every three months.
How carers’ voices will shape wider decisions
Caring and the needs of carers will be considered across the council and its partners and not treated as a separate issue.
Members of the Carers Strategy Group also sit on wider corporate and partnership groups, including those focused on:
- workforce and training
- inclusion and equalities
- evidence, data and learning
- digital and service improvement
This means carers’ voices can help shape wider decisions, and issues affecting carers can be raised and addressed through the right forums.
In turn, learning and progress from those groups will be shared back with carers, helping to ensure support continues to improve across services.