Emphasis on saving money ‘hitting quest for personalised services’

The priority placed on cost by Scottish local authorities when tendering for contracts threatens to undermine the development of more personalised services, Community Care Providers Scotland has warned.

Its new report, launched at the conference, says social care commissioning is being driven by how cheaply care can be delivered rather than shared ambitions between authorities, providers and users.

The approach has already led to three providers quitting contracts because they say funding cuts made it impossible to develop services focused on individuals’ needs. This was a key recommendation of the Scottish executive’s Changing Lives proposals.

CCPS is calling for a national review of procurement practices to ensure they are consistent with the drive for personalised services.

The report, Ready, Willing and Able, also calls for councils to separate their commissioning and service delivery functions to create a level playing field between councilrun and outsourced services.