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Why Managing Supply is Important The supply of a full range of cost effective services is one of the building blocks of effective budget management within adult services. These services need to promote the independence of service users as well as provide value for money. The development of these services needs to be located within a robust long term commissioning strategy (Read More). Significant changes in the pattern and nature of services have to be done in a planned way. Councils in difficulty can feel they are lurching from one crisis to another, unable to develop any new services unless additional resources are forthcoming. New providers may be reluctant to develop services in the area as they cannot see what the longer term future might look like. Users and carers may also oppose all changes for similar reasons. The commissioning module guides you through how to commission social care services and gives some examples of good practice in commissioning adult services. In developing commissioning strategies it is critical to look at all the levels of support, changing the balance between those living in the community and those living in 24 hour care may well impact significantly on the nature and level of day services needed. Providing significantly more or different respite may reduce the demand for 24 hour care. So developing strategies to sort day care or residential care alone is short sighted and will probably leave you with gaps of unmet need or duplicated service. Changes also need to be linked together so that budgets can move from resources where you are looking to disinvest across to new services. There are examples of successful disinvestment from high cost 24/7 services into lower cost community based services that have enabled authorities to provide services for more users and enabled those people to remain within their communities This section looks at the key elements in ensuring a robust supply of services which also deliver Best Value. These elements are:
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