An improved and innovative in-house service: Adult Social Care in Barnet
A response to an update of Barnet Council's for Adult Social Care since November 2015. The Council has shortlisted three options for Adult Social Care – a reformed in-house service, a service shared with the NHS and a public service mutual. The options of outsourcing or transfer of the services to The Barnet Group, the Council’s Local Authority Trading Company, have been rejected.
Barnet UNISON recommends:
Formal responses to the questions on financial savings and the Committee should ensure that the timetable for the implementation of each option is evidenced based for each service.
Confirmation that a full and comprehensive in-house option will be developed including who will undertake the development of the in-house model, how it will be developed, staff and UNISON involvement and the resources to be made available.
A comprehensive and transparent Evaluation Framework is prepared to prevent evaluation bias as a result of the Council appointing consultants who are clearly committed to a mutual/social enterprise model.
A Risk Register is prepared immediately to identify the range and level of risks associated with each option.
The financial impact of the pensions’ deficit should be made transparent and built into the financial models as a matter of urgency.