Adult services
Councils need to deliver further productivity savings in adult social care in order to manage demographic pressures and the much reduced funding available to local government.
Children, adults and families
Why this is a big win
In 2009/10 councils spent £14 billion on adult services and £6.5 billion on children's services (excluding education). This is a critical high spend area that accounts for nearly a fifth of all expenditure and supports some of the most vulnerable people in our society.
Social care services are provided by a wide range of organisations from across the public, private and third sectors. The white paper envisages even wider service provision and local government will need to work closely with other public sector commissioners, and providers from all sectors, in order to manage costs and improve services. Councils' new role in leading on public health is an additional challenge, but also a new opportunity to join up public sector services better.his is a critical high spend area where it is particularly vital that social outcomes are at the very least sustained. Work with the sector has revealed that unit costs in these services vary significantly, while strong evidence indicates that transforming services to be more preventative and better targeted will be a prerequisite in reducing the cost base in the future.
Our approach
The reduction in council funding means that the sector must remodel services to reduce costs while maintaining the level of service. Our work with councils has shown that unit costs in these services vary significantly. There is strong evidence to indicate that transforming services to be more preventative and better targeted is the starting point in reducing the cost base. Leading councils have also found significant savings by strengthening commissioning arrangements.
Our approach is based on:
- improving the commissioning of services
- greater prevention
- closer working with partners
- embedding known good practice.
Our offer to councils
Our offer to councils compliments that provided by other professional organisations and bodies. We will be helping councils to deliver Better for Less in the following areas:
The LGA's Adult Social Care Efficiency Programme is supporting authorities to develop the efficiency and transformation approaches required to help them meet the challenges reduced funding, demographic pressures and policy objectives such as personalisation.
Children and young people
Children's services are a critical service that supports some of the most vulnerable people in our society.
Families with complex needs and community bugets
Community budget pilots specifically look at ways of supporting families with complex needs.
You can find out more about the Local Government Association's work with children and young people's services and with health, adult social care and ageing
Health, wellbeing and adult social care
Get involved
The Children's Improvement Board – to improve children's services
The LGA Children and Young People Board
Productivity and Efficiency Exchange Group on the Knowledge Hub – new users will need to register.
Contact
For more information, please contact:
Email: productivity@local.gov.uk.
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Childrens, adults and families big wins
Productivity opportunities for councils
Better Commissioning and Productivity in Children's Services
The Children's Improvement Board (CIB) is responsible for the overall development and delivery of the programme of sector-led improvement support and challenge for local authority children's services.
This Knowledge Hub group is intended for anyone involved in commissioning for children and young people. The group's library is a one-stop-shop for commissioners which brings together a range of resources from tools and guides to comprehensive training materials that cover the full range of commissioning skills.
ASCEP The Initial Position report
Last updated: 26 June 2012
