Regional commissioning for children in care

The green paper Care Matters: Transforming the Lives of Children and Young People set out the government's proposals on the regional commissioning of services for children in care. The government is committed to securing better value for money and giving children more choice about their placements.

The aim is to offer a choice of suitable placements for each child, leaving final decisions about individual placements in the hands of social workers in discussion with children themselves.

Regional commissioning pilots

We are piloting regional commissioning for children in care in 2007-8. The pilots should help to match children in care to high-quality placements more effectively, supporting improved outcomes for these children. They should deliver:

• Information on providers across the region
  Better information should keep commissioners better informed about supply in their area, effectively increasing the supply of suitable provision.
  
  
• Increased choice for children and commissioners
  An increase in the number of options available to commissioners and children when making placement decisions.
  
  
• Efficiency savings
  In making more suitable placements, commissioners will also create greater placement stability, which will lead to more efficient commissioning and reduce contracting costs, accreditation costs, and matching costs. Providers will also see efficiencies through standardised contracts and reduced bureaucracy.
  
  
• Better access to new markets for providers
  All commissioners within a region should be able to access information about providers' services and available placements through a database. This should benefit all providers, including small niche providers and those in the voluntary and third sectors.

So far we have agreed bids to operate commissioning pilots in the following regions:

• London
  
  
• North East
  
  
• North West
  
  
• South West
  
  
• West Midlands

We have also agreed a bid for a cross-regional pilot covering the East Midlands, the East of England and the South East. This pilot project will also work closely with the South West.

The regional commissioning pilots start from 1 September 2007 and are due to end by 31 March 2008. They are expected to be self-financing beyond that date.

You can download a vision document below to read further information or read a case study to see how the pilots might operate.

Regional Commissioning Pilots for Children in Care - Vision Document
This discussion paper offers the current thinking on the pilots. A list of contacts for the regional commissioning proposals is also available here.

Regional Commissioning Pilots Update March 2008
This update provides an outline of the latest developments in regional commissioning pilots.

North East Regional Commissioning Unit - A Model
A case study on the North East Regional Commissioning Unit.