IDeA publishes guide on better procurement of adult social care

The Improvement & Development Agency (IDeA) has published a guide for local authorities on how to achieve better procurement of adult social care.

The agency argues that millions of pounds could be saved each year through more effective and collaborative commission.

Councils currently spend around £18bn each year on adult social care, including £11.6bn on external providers.

The guide – Top tips on improving outcomes through better commissioning of adult social care ­– identifies the following as vital for successful commissioning:

• Shifting to an outcomes focus. “In the past people talked about commissioning services. Instead it is important to focus on a particular population or client group and the outcomes you want to achieve”
• Getting the baseline information. “To commission well you need to make use of all the information available including consulting service users and carers on their views”
• Understanding the importance of the planning stage. “Once you have collected all the baseline information you need to make use of this in planning future services”
• Getting a good range of prevention and early intervention services. “This will involve making plans to, over time, shift resources from high cost services into lower cost services which can prevent the need for more expensive intensive services”, and
• Commissioning in partnership and involving users, carers and service providers.

“If you align your commissioning arrangements with others and jointly commission or pool resources, you can reduce duplication, achieve some economies of scale and harness purchasing power,” IDeA said.

The guide sets out the features of best commissioning practice by an excellent local authority, such as being clear about how resources have been allocated between different client groups, having a balance of services available, procuring services in an effective way including having robust monitoring systems, and working in partnership with the Primary Care Trust.

It also provides a checklist for adult social care portfolio holders, members involved in scrutinising adult social care, and members interested in finding out how social care commissioning works in their authority.