Our commissioning approach for adults, children and families in Gateshead

Commissioning staffing resource

Gateshead Council employs up to 30 Commissioning staff, responsible largely for adults and childrens social care, within the All-Age Commissioning function. Some workers undertake commissioning and contract management, with staff time also devoted to quality assurance and co-ordination of placements. Other Council staff are involved in commissioning public health and housing services, located within other directorates.

The All-Age Commissioning function forms part of the Commissioning, Performance and Service Development Division within the IASCS directorate. The division operates across adult social care, children's social care and education. The commissioning function is organised on a "life-course" model with three services dealing with:

• ageing well
• working age adults
• children and families

Each commissioning service manages the whole commissioning cycle and handles review, design, contract management and compliance, placements and quality assurance. Placements management for some sectors is handled currently by social care operational services for adults and children respectively. Gateshead does not operate a Brokerage team for all adult social care services, nor a consolidated Placements or Home-Finding team for children's services. This is an area of activity that will be subject to further review in the forthcoming year. In Spring 2023 some changes were made to the Commissioning structure, ending certain formal arrangements for joint commissioning with the ICB and revising senior management roles. A review of quality assurance activity by Commissioning has been undertaken and options for the future direction and staffing of this aspect of commissioning are being considered. The review considered the operating arrangements and organisation of responsibilities between Commissioning, Childrens Social Care and Adult Social Care.

Recruitment and retention

Recruitment to a range of professional roles has proved challenging for local authorities generally and in the Northeast region. There is apparent competition for candidates amongst Northeast Councils, given the easy travel between areas for workers, occasioned by the regional geography and transport links. Pay is considered to be an important factor in regional competition and Gateshead has found it difficult recently to recruit to commissioning roles, including management posts.

There is some evidence of a wider shortage of experienced commissioning professionals nationally, linked to an ageing workforce. This is more starkly apparent since the Covid19 pandemic and may reflect alternatives including interim and remote working. In order to recruit and retain capable commissioning staff, Gateshead Council must consider and address a number of issues:

• recruiting people from other fields/professions with transferable skills
• ensuring job opportunities at an appropriate entry level
• training and staff development at entry level and for professional development
• ensuring career paths for commissioners within the Council

Gateshead Council has embarked upon a comprehensive corporate job evaluation programme, which will encompass all directorates and all roles in due course. Currently the Council deploys a range of recruitment and retention enhancements in seeking to recruit external candidates.

Commissioning staff development and training

There is no formal training programme currently for commissioning staff at Gateshead Council. Options for developing or commissioning structured training are being reviewed, considering the growth in targeted and specialist training in higher education. It is recognised that training aimed at retaining and developing an effective commissioning workforce will need to address:

• who is attracted to and can potentially be recruited into commissioning?
• what existing experience or transferable skills should be identified and prioritised?
• what are the core skills and knowledge which should be addressed at entry level or in the first two years?
• what are the different ways commissioning staff can learn and acquire skills as part of CPD and which are most effective or practicable?
• how can CPD for commissioning link with wider corporate management development training?
• what are the benefits and risks of adopting a collaborative approach to commissioning staff development with other Councils in the Northeast?

In developing a programme of training and staff development for commissioners, the following options will be considered:

• a training programme utilising courses/modules from higher education in the Northeast/Yorkshire regions
• commissioning apprenticeship/s
• online only courses, enabling access to national higher education sector
• bespoke training/workshops on key themes and topics
• structured mentoring schemes within the Council
• job shadowing schemes
• regional approaches with other Councils to bespoke courses, mentoring and job shadowing
• development of Gateshead training manuals on key themes or for certain job roles or tasks
• accessing or adapting wider corporate training related to contracts and contract management, procurement, negotiation skills and various management skills

In weighing all these options, the leadership team will reflect upon the potential to combine with other directorates with commissioning responsibilities, such as Public Health and Housing. Any plans will be subject to identifying the resources to fund the costs involved, including external and bespoke courses, apprenticeship pay and backfill of staff time.