The fee levels paid by local authorities for residential and domiciliary care are dangerously low warns Self Unlimited, a charity specialising in support for people with a learning disability.
Chief Executive Patrick Wallace said, “Some local authorities’ Social Services departments are not meeting actual cost. We are finding it increasingly difficult to maintain quality levels of service with year on year cuts to fee levels.”
The Charity is calling for the Commission for Quality Care (CQC) to have powers of inspection over local authority purchasing practices.
Mr Wallace continued, “It is often the contracted supplier who is sanctioned by CQC, as the regulator, but if price is driven so low by purchasers, surely it is they who are failing older and disabled people.”
Self Unlimited cites on-line tendering as the unacceptable face of commissioning services. Wallace thinks that it is about price and not quality. He believes service users and their families must be involved in any tendering systems, and considers that local authorities are missing a trick if they don’t assess what agencies can provide as added value.
Wallace finished by saying, “Overhead costs are not recognised; HR, training, and financial administration all cost money and are an important part of providing a quality service. Low fee levels will lead some organisations to cut corners, and Social Services departments must recognise this.”
