Joint commissioning

What is commissioning?

Commissioning is the process of assessing need, identifying resources available, planning how to use the resources, arranging service delivery (as opposed to operational management),reviewing the service and reassessing need. Commissioning creates the levers for service change. Integrated commissioning will bring innovation, value for money and improved services that cut waste and duplication.

Why commission jointly?

The benefits of joint commissioning are that it will help agencies together to:

• Target services to give the greatest impact on outcomes
• Avoid duplication of services
• Ensure value for money & efficiency
• Develop co-ordinated services
• Share best practice
• Share expertise
• Share intelligence about needs

Who is responsible for commissioning?

The Trust Board will be the key driver to ensure the effective commissioning of all services to children and young people in Buckinghamshire. To deliver this work a Joint Commissioning Service has been established. This service is located in the Commissioning and Business Improvement Division of the County Council and works in partnership with the Joint Commissioning Group of the Trust.

The Trust Board shall also ensure input by all represented organisations into the development of commissioning arrangements by virtue of its role as strategic lead on commissioning and shall require the CYPSP to task the joint commissioning service group in accordance with that lead.

What is the joint commissioning group?

The three-year strategy adopted by the Trust in 2007 established that the Joint Commissioning Group, a sub-group of the Children and Young People’s Trust, would oversee the delivery of the Joint Commissioning Strategy and plan the delivery of all services to children and young people in Buckinghamshire.

The Joint Commissioning Group is accountable to the Children and Young People’s Trust Board through the CYPSP and regularly reports to the Board all the business it conducts. A Tracker is sent each month from the Joint Commissioning Group to the Children and Young People’s Trust to update them on progress.

The commissioning principles and process

The core principles of commissioning adopted in the “Commissioning Principles & Framework” already agreed by the Children and Young People’s Trust are:

• All decisions are based on a clear rationale for improving outcomes for children and young people.
• Commissioners should make sure that outcomes are sustainable in the long term.
• Children, young people, their families and communities must participate meaningfully.
• There is one strategic plan for children and young people’s services in the local area.
• Commissioners have a strategy to move resources to preventative and early intervention services.
• Commissioning function exercises independence of decision making for internal and external providers.
• Commissioners must ensure that approaches are compatible with EU and UK law, regulations and guidance. Decisions must be transparent and fair.
• There should be only one strategic commissioning plan for all children’s services for all children and young people in Bucks.

The joint commissioning strategy 07-10

The purpose of the Joint Commissioning Strategy is to:

• take a strategic view as to which outcomes can be most readily improved through joint commissioning work
• set out how partner agencies will jointly commission services
• set the priorities for joint commissioning work for the next three years and the rationale behind them

Ten priorities were selected for 2007-2010. These are based upon the needs highlighted in the Children and Young People’s Plan5, and the 2006 JAR report. These two documents probably represent the most comprehensive multi-agency assessment of priorities for children, young people and their families ever carried out in Buckinghamshire. So they give a robust basis for developing further work. There is still a need to improve and refine needs assessment and this will be an explicit goal of the commissioning work.

The priorities are:

• CAMHS
• Parenting Skills
• Tackling Domestic violence
• Develop local provision though Children’s Centres, Extended Services & development of
• CAF and lead professional
• Participation
• Improve achievement of Identified specific minority ethnic groups
• Affordable leisure
• Promote Healthy schools
• Children & young people with complex needs [e.g. disabilities]
• Children & young people with complex needs [e.g. Looked After & Care Leavers]

Commissioning activity in 09/10

The table below shows the main commissioning activities for the current year.

Commissioning for outcomes

All contracts will include:

• outcome-based performance targets so as to ensure the delivery of services that focus on outcomes
• a cycle of monitoring so that performance can be measured
• quality standards that can be monitored so as to ensure the overall quality of provision. This will include consumer feedback

Participation

The involvement of children and young people is central to the commissioning process and the aim is to involve them at every stage of the commissioning cycle. Guidance has been agreed by the Children and Young People’s Trust on involving children and young people in commissioning. Please download the document below.

Engaging with the third sector

The Third Sector have a critical role in delivering services for children and young people in Buckinghamshire and a number of contracts are already in place with Third Sector organisations. However, the commissioning process can also pose challenges, particularly for the smaller organisations. The Children and Young People’s Trust have agreed a Third Sector Commissioning Development Plan to build the capacity of the Third Sector to tender for contracts.

For more information call 01296 387657 or email cyptrust@buckscc.gov.uk

Related files (you need Acrobat Reader to open):

• Involving Children and Young People in Commissioning Guidance MS Word Document 910KB