1. Portfolio/Number/Name:H/C 10 Efficiency savings in the Care Commission |
2. Programme/Activity: Regulation of care services defined in the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 The Care Commission is an NDPB responsible for the regulation of a wide range of care services under the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001. The Commission will be responsible for delivering these savings. Jacquie Roberts, Chief Executive and David Wiseman, Director of Operations at the Care Commission, are the key action managers. The £1m cash savings in 2005-06 and subsequent years relate to efficiency savings in the regulation of early years services. |
3. Efficiency | 3.1 Current target; £m | | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 |
Cash | 1.0 | 1.6 | 1.6 |
Time | 0 | 0 | 0 |
3.2 Efficiencies delivered; £m | | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 |
Cash | 1.5 | - | - |
Time | 0 | - | - |
4. Accountable Officer for delivery | Dr Kevin Wood |
5. Project Manager | Ms Linda Gregson, SEHD Care Standards and Sponsorship Branch and Care Commission Director of Operations |
6. EGDD Portfolio Manager | Rowena Simpson |
7. Description of efficiency and actions to be taken | 7.1 What is the efficiency improvement? How will the efficiencies be made? £1m of the savings have been made through the streamlining of the Commission's joint inspection arrangements for early years services with HMIE. For example, it has been agreed with HMIE that in a year when a joint inspection is due then for smaller services that inspection will be carried out by one inspector. The Commission has also revised the activity time needed to inspect childminders in light of discussions with the Department. A saving of £160k a year from 2005-06 also has been achieved as a result of the Care Commission's Organisational Structure Review approved by Ministers. The savings are a result of a net reduction of 8 middle management posts. This will not affect the quality or quantity of the Care Commission's output. In 2005-06 the Care Commission also funded increase in non-staff prices (around £250k) from efficiency savings elsewhere in its budget We are currently negotiating the Care Commission's budget for 2006-07. Efficiencies of a further £600k are embedded in the Commission's draft budget. |
7.2 What are the main actions that are needed to secure the delivery of this efficiency improvement? The Care Commission's inspection processes take account of the efficiencies in practice set out at 7.1 above. The amount of inspector time required now to deliver the new arrangements is less than before and this has been reflected in the Care Commission's staffing requirements. |
8. Associated costs | 8.1 Are there any development or redundancy costs associated with the delivery of this efficiency? The efficiencies impact on staffing levels. It is difficult to be specific about numbers. Recent work by the Care Commission in relation to fee levels sets out the activity required to regulate all care services for which it is responsible. That work takes account of the new arrangements described above and is reflected in the Care Commission's gross budget. The £1m efficiency saving is recurrent. The saving has not resulted in any redundancies. The reduction in staff time required to regulate early years services as above has been achieved through a combination of re-deploying staff into the regulation of services that have not been previously regulated (e.g. housing support) and by not filling vacant posts. |
9. Measurement | 9.1 What are the inputs that will be measured? The £1.6m efficiency is in the Care Commission's gross budget and subsequently in the grant-in-aid required from the Department. We expect the Care Commission's gross expenditure (which is agreed by the Department) to continue to reflect the efficient practice in the regulation of these and other services. The Care Commission will be required to keep its costs down. We will be monitoring expenditure against the Care Commission's gross budget to ensure both that there is no overspend and that no additional grant-in-aid is required. |
9.2 What are the outputs that will be measured? The outputs are the targets set out in the Care Commission's Corporate Plan |
9.3 What is the baseline for inputs and outputs? The baselines are 2004/05 costs per unit and target levels achieved. |
10. Quality cross-check | 10.1 What quality indicators are being used to ensure that quality of service is maintained or improved? We do not expect the savings to affect the Care Commission's statutory inspection requirements or the quality of inspections being carried out. Through established performance monitoring returns to the Department we will receive assurance that there has been no deterioration in performance. |
11. Monitoring | 11.1 What are the arrangements for monitoring the delivery of efficiencies? Care Commission provide monthly reports on outturn against budget and quarterly reports showing outturn against key corporate plan targets and statutory requirements. |
12. Reporting | 12.1 What are the arrangements for reporting the delivery of efficiencies? Care Commission provide monthly reports on outturn against budget and quarterly reports showing outturn against key corporate plan targets and statutory requirements. |
13. Dependencies | 13.1 Explain if your efficiencies are dependent on legislation or other structural changes being achieved. The efficiencies at the level agreed are not dependant on legislation. The delivery of further efficiencies is, however, constrained by the requirement in the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 for services to be inspected at least once a year (and twice in the case of services where overnight accommodation is a part of the service e.g. care homes). Ministers now have, through the Smoking Health and Social Care (Scotland) Act 2005), the power to vary the minimum frequency of inspections. They are currently considering for which of the services regulated by the Commission there is a case for consulting on the use of that power.. |
14. Use of efficiencies | 14.1 How are the efficiencies released from improvement activity being used to improve front-line services? The Care Commission has reduced its gross budget for 2005-06 by the £1m agreed as part of the discussions on Early Years' efficiencies. This efficiency savings was assumed as part of the allocation made by the Scottish Executive to the Care Commission. This freed up resources for Ministers to allocate to their priorities. |