Originally posted June 2009
Herefordshire council is one step closer to piloting its external brokerage scheme in September this year.
The trial will test the use of independent brokers to help people with individual budgets develop their own support plans, and negotiate the best deals when purchasing support.
It will focus on how brokers can contribute to the Putting People First agenda – Government’s drive to transform social care by finding new ways of delivering services.
The council has already reached its target of 250 service users receiving their own personalised budgets.
The budgets give people flexibility in deciding the type of care they need and how it will be delivered; for example, an individual could use their budget to pay a neighbour to help look after them.
Gill Vickers, Interim Head of Transformation, Herefordshire council, says:
“The pilot will look at the effectiveness of external brokerage, including costs, and compare it to the way we usually go about commissioning and providing care for individuals.
“We plan to road test a hub and spoke model. A broker will be based in one or each of our five market town centres (the hub) where people can make an appointment to discuss their needs. The brokers will travel out (spoke) to visit people who can’t come into town.
“Their role is to help people develop and implement their own support plans within their budgets, and to negotiate on their behalf the best deal when buying support.”
Different models are on trial in other authorities, including one where some of the social workforce are being trained as planners, and others as negotiators buying support packages.
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