The Care Provider Alliance has published some guidance to suggest to its readers how adult social care providers should approach a situation when acting as representatives.

‘Seven principles for the engagement of individual providers on behalf of the wider independent and voluntary adult social care sector,’ is a tool to help overcome problems in the sector.

Many adult social care providers engage with local authorities and the NHS in the areas they work in, but the process isn’t always positive.

A spokesperson for Care England said: “There may be many reasons for this, but one is that local authorities and the NHS sometimes believe that talking strategically to individual providers would create conflicts on interest.”

Care England have hopes that the adoption of the seven principles will reassure sector colleagues that there is nothing to stop them working strategically with the sector.

The guidance can be downloaded at www.careprovideralliance.org.uk/stp-engagement