How can councils save money

Some, such as Haringey and Harrow in London, are moving towards multi-agency teams working on each case, allowing social workers to focus on the areas they are most skilled in.

Many people in the sector believe personalisation can only be implemented on an affordable basis with reduced social worker numbers and greater use of less expensive staff. Streamlining the workforce can also refer to reducing recruitment costs. Back-office functions have been identified as a prime target for cuts. But sector leaders, such as Hilton Dawson, chief executive of the British Association of Social Workers, warn that this approach would be counter-productive in social work.

Respondents said managers had taken the view that admin workers, who could support practitioners in tasks such as responding to referrals, taking minutes of case conferences, and assisting in budget reports, could be cut without affecting frontline services. The Local Government Association and ADCS agree that councils should be given the freedom to make the cuts in ways that enable them to meet local priorities, and highlight other ways of making social work teams more efficient.

Unless workflows and service expectations are changed the pressures are likely to be transferred on to frontline services. Cross-border commissioning allows councils to use their combined purchasing power to put downwards pressure on prices charged by providers, set clear expectations on quality and standardise documentation. This involved setting out a joint commissioning framework, outlining the sort of services they needed for the client group, and then commissioning just four organisations to provide them.

Those providers selected have benefited from the standardisation of contracts across the nine councils. This involves creating standardised contracts and holding down provider fees. In and , the councils requested that providers held their prices unless a review was deemed to be necessary, based on a set of standardised criteria. Providers often argue that a decline in the quality of services is the inevitable result of this strategy.

Contracts may be terminated if councils deem they can provide services cheaper themselves. Doncaster, for example, has brought its care leaver support services in-house. In adult care, some councils have ended contracts with voluntary providers of day centres, in part because of the personalisation agenda. A recent survey of Community Care readers found that more than half had seen closures of services in their areas. Voluntary organisations are likely to attract public and political support.

Risk of disenfranchised clients deteriorating and needing more costly services. This article is published in the 3 June issue of Community Care magazine under the heading Strategies for saving money.

Register Login. Search for:. Jobs Live Inform. Strategies for saving money: what councils can do to survive austerity A on how social care responds to the public spending cuts begins with Community Care reporters looking at how councils can save money. Geoff Ettridge, meanwhile, examines the potential for savings By gary brigden on May 28, in Adults , Children , Social care leaders , Students , Workforce.

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