Oxfordshire County Council : Social Care Provider Engagement

Dear colleagues and partners,

Re: Notification of road closures on Saturday 14 June 2025

Road closures are needed to be in place on Saturday 14 June to support a ceremonial procession for firefighter Jennie Logan who tragically died alongside firefighter Martyn Sadler and a member of the public, Dave Chester, following an incident at Bicester Motion on 15 May. From approximately 9.30am - 11am the following roads will be temporarily closed in Bicester, Oxfordshire: • Banbury Road – south of the railway bridge • Buckingham Rd – south of the railway station/New Street • Field St • Queens Avenue. The following adjoining roads may be affected (with closures at the junctions): • St John’s St • Kings End/Causeway • Bucknell Rd • Kingsclere • King’s Ave • Rowan Road. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and advise planning alternative routes for travel should you or any visitors wish or need to do so over this time. You can check @OxonTravel on X for travel updates on the day. Members of the public are able to pay their respects, should they wish to, by viewing the procession as it begins at 10am travelling down Banbury Road onto Queen’s Avenue towards Bicester Fire Station where it will pause for a minute silence from approximately 10.15am. We kindly ask for your patience in this matter.

Yours sincerely, Paul Fermer Director of Environment, Highways and Transport paul.fermer@oxfordshire.gov.uk www.oxfordshire.gov.uk

You are welcome to join an online talk on 'Falls and Frailty – understanding and preventing falls in later life' organised by South Central Ambulance Service NHS FoundationTrust (SCAS).

The event is being held on Thursday 19 June (6pm-7pm) with:

• Mark Ainsworth-Smith, consultant pre-hospital care practitioner at SCAS.
• Harry Pun, occupational therapist, proportionate care / medicine for older people team, University Hospital Southampton.
• Hannah Foxley, advanced specialist occupational therapist, proportionate care team at University Hospital Southampton.

More details are available on the SCAS website - to register your place and receive a link to join contact membership@scas.nhs.uk.

We are writing to alert you to a potential scam that may be targeting adult social care providers across Oxfordshire.

A provider recently contacted the Quality Team after receiving a call from Jason at Skills for Care regarding their alleged registration in March 2025 on the Adult Social Care Data Set. Jason advised that the provider's company details had been changed to “Brayground” using an email address unconnected to their organisation. These details also did not match those registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Jason explained that this alteration might have been an attempt to fraudulently claim funding for training workers whom the provider does not actually employ. When Jason shared a sample of the names linked to these claims, the provider did not recognise any of them. Jason agreed that this appears to be a scam, which could potentially affect other providers.

We strongly recommend that all providers:

• Carefully review their registration details on the Adult Social Care Data Set to ensure no unauthorised changes have been made.
• Report any discrepancies immediately to Skills for Care at 0113 241 0969, as well as to the local safeguarding team and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) where appropriate.

We believe that swift action is needed to protect the integrity of training and funding processes and to prevent fraud.

Nature-based practice is increasingly incorporated into evidence-based interventions to tackle physical and mental health inequalities, both in the community and in health and care settings.

Oxfordshire Public Health, Oxfordshire Local Nature Partnership, and Greener Practice Oxfordshire are working together to develop a FREE nature-based practice training offer for Oxfordshire-based professionals working in the NHS, social care, and VCSE sector.

To understand how much interest there might be for this and help us get it right, we would be grateful for your feedback through this 5-minute survey. The survey will close on 30^th June.

Any questions, just get in touch with Lizzie Moore, People and Nature Manager at Oxfordshire Local Nature Partnership (Lizzie.moore@southandvale.gov.uk).

📢 We Want to Hear from You!

As part of her Quality Practitioner Level 4 Apprenticeship, Monica Alves is working on a project titled:
"Improving Stakeholder Engagement and Feedback Mechanisms to Drive Continuous Quality Improvement in Adults and Children Social Care."

To make this meaningful, She needs your input!

📝 There is a short survey to gather your views on the support provided by Quality Improvement Officers — including how we engage with you, our professionalism, knowledge, and how well we reflect the values of Oxfordshire County Council.

⏱️ It takes around 10 minutes to complete, and all responses are confidential.

🔗 https://forms.office.com/e/0ipNMjrTTk
📅 Deadline: 06 June 2025

Your feedback will help shape how we work and improve the quality of our services. Thank you in advance for your time and support!

If you require any further information you can contact Monica on 07783 879 270 or email monica.alves@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Falls present a major, growing public health problem that can have devastating effects on older people and those at-risk due to medical conditions, often resulting in a loss of independence, chronic pain, and reduced quality of life.

This useful and useable guideline has been updated to ensure people identified as being at greatest risk get help and support tailored to their individual needs so they can live full and active lives. 

Fewer people suffering falls will result in a drop in the number of hospital visits and the need for ongoing treatments which will reduce pressure on the NHS.

A News article was released on 29 April 2025 New guideline will help cut falls and related hospital admissions for older and at-risk people | NICE

You can download the full guide at Overview | Falls: assessment and prevention in older people and in people 50 and over at higher risk | Guidance | NICE

We would like to inform you about an important update from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) regarding the use of VAT grouping within the care industry. This update is particularly relevant for state-regulated care providers who form a VAT group with non-state-regulated providers of welfare services.

Key Points:

• VAT Grouping: HMRC has issued new guidance on VAT grouping structures used by care providers. They consider these structures as a form of tax avoidance and will refuse new VAT group registration applications designed to implement these structures. HMRC will also review and investigate existing VAT groups suspected of using avoidance schemes.

• Council's Position: Please note that the council will not be novating any existing contracts. This means that current contracts will remain as they are and will not be transferred to another party.

Are you struggling with staff retention? Do you want to attract and keep top talent? The Skills for Care ‘Recruit to retain’ programme offers practical, values-based strategies to strengthen recruitment, support staff development, and reduce turnover. 

This three-day virtual programme will help you build a values-driven, supportive workplace that enhances staff wellbeing, reduces turnover and associated costs and attracts high-quality candidates. It’s designed to support you to meet Care Quality Commission (CQC) standards, deliver high quality care and build a strong, loyal workforce.

The course is FULLY FUNDED by Oxfordshire County Council.

Programme dates:

Thursday 08 May 2025, 10:00 – 16:00

Thursday 22 May 2025, 10:00 – 16:00

Wednesday 04 June 2025, 10:00 – 16:00

Book your place now: https://events.skillsforcare.org.uk/skillsforcare/2129/register