Councils will have to explore alternative models for adult care, says law firm

There is no longer an “as we are” option for local authorities when it comes to providing care for older people, law firm TPP Law has warned.

Speaking at the Caring for Older People conference, Director Matthew Wolton said: “They will have to act and to explore alternatives around providing care for older people in the medium and long term. The nature of the authority, their current set up and future political direction will have much to do with the choices they make.”

Wolton was also launching the firm’s special report, Future Service Models for Adult Social Care. The report explores three future service models:

• In-house local authority trading companies
• Transfer of services into a social enterprise
• Partnerships with the independent sector.

TPP Law estimated – based on the difference in cost between local authorities and the private sector in providing residential care services – that savings of anywhere between £250m and £375m could be achieved through outsourcing.

“While some services could be provided with varying degrees of local authority involvement, others could transfer to independent providers, encouraging local authorities to become service commissioners rather than service providers over time,” the firm said.

Wotton argued that a tipping point had been reached with the arrival of personalised budgets and massive public sector debt.

A copy of the report can be downloaded here.