Relieving the pressure

The Audit Commission has made a series of recommendations to deal with the challenges of caring for a growing ageing population as public spending decreases.

Published in February 2010, recommendations are detailed in the report 'Under Pressure - tackling the financial challenge for councils of an ageing population'. It states all councils should:

• update their sustainable community strategy, medium-term financial plans and service strategies to prepare for the impact of an ageing population

• build older people’s opinions and experiences into plans for services that deliver what older people need and value, and also deliver better value for money

• update commissioning strategies to reflect future roles in preventing, reducing, or delaying, health and social care costs.

Councils with social care responsibilities should also:

• use unit cost data and benchmarks to identify priorities for short-term change; and aim to reduce residential care costs below the Department of Health’s suggested target of 40 per cent of the budget for older people’s care services

• develop an action plan for medium-term change to meet the financial challenge

• work with partners, and older people, to develop an area-wide approach to later life that delivers value for money by integrating prevention, early intervention and care services

• use delivery chain analysis to overcome obstacles to joint working in reducing needs for hospital admissions and high-level residential care support.

The Audit Commission is providing tools to support the report, plus further analysis and guidance to achieve value for money in social care, and for strategic financial management.

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