The Government's Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has asked all local authorities to publish a Market Sustainability Plan. The plan needs to be published by 27 March 2023. This follows the requirement to carry out a Fair Cost of Care exercise.
The DHSC have defined a sustainable care market as one which runs in an efficient and effective way as follows:
- enough supply of services to ensure continuity of care with minimal issue in the event of provider exits
- a range of high-quality services for people to choose from
- a workforce enabled to attract and retain high-quality care staff
- innovation and service diversity to grow and meet changing user needs
- attracting new market entrants and able to manage the impact of future changes
The aim is that people have a range of high-quality services to choose from that are provided by a range of different providers.