In South Gloucestershire it is considered that commissioning is the process to meet local needs which involves both specifying and securing high quality provision. Priorities are those which are needed to improve the outcomes for children and young people and are fully informed by their views and those of their parents. The provision secured must be cost-effective and provide value for money. Commissioning includes monitoring and evaluating services provided in order to ascertain their impact on improvement and applies to all services within the children's trust arrangements, whether provided by the local authority, health service, police, schools and the private or voluntary sector. Commissioning will help develop the drive towards moving resources to preventative and early intervention services. It will also promote diversity in the market and the security of provision across services however provided. This process will strengthen the market, promoting competition.
Latest update
The commissioning strategy has now been approved by the Strategic Partnership Board. Specifically it was agreed that the priorities within the strategy will reflect those in the Children and Young People Plan.
The members of the Strategic Partnership Board also considered how the strategy should be put into place within their own organisation. It was agreed that their own organisations will seek to apply the principles and processes when carrying out individual commissioning.
A strategic commissioning group has been set up. Membership involves representation from the local authority, health and the private, voluntary and community sector.
Issues relating to joint commissioning are to be tackled by the strategic commissioning group. This will include looking at how core budgets are spent and how they could be jointly monitored together with the development of joint funding.
Last updated April 2007