Questions

Is the social care market in Scotland currently fit for purpose? Is entrepreneurial activity encouraged and are partnerships fostered between statutory, independent and private sectors?

Care 21 held an initial stakeholder event in September 2004 to discuss some of the issues relating to the social care market in Scotland. This has prompted us to create a work programme which will analyse several issues in more depth.

The issues flagged for further analysis are:

• Need for strategic approach to market management in social care
• Inconsistency - across Local Authorities and Health Authorities in commissioning, contracting and strategic planning practice
• Increased competition amongst voluntary, private and statutory sectors which inhibits partnership and creativity
• Inconsistent use of the best value approach to consider issues such as ,demographic change, affordability of services, and unit cost
• ?Short term? approach adopted to commissioning, failure to plan and fund services on long term basis
• Specific problems experienced by the independent sector including, recruitment, capacity to change, develop and train staff

Care 21 will analyse these issues in turn and will be requesting your views at several points throughout the exercise. It is our intention to highlight the areas in which guidelines and policy can be developed for use across the sector.