What does pooling mean for Local Authorities?
Pooling budgets is a great idea in principle, but in practice can be difficult to orchestrate and keep running smoothly. The latest research and development, gathered on this website, follows the production of Ruils 2010 Guide to Pooling Direct Payments and takes reference from the subsequent pilot schemes and pooling work carried out by the Local Authorities and voluntary organisations who purchased the guide and / or attended events and workshops. The updated guide will shortly be available to purchase in printed form and information, tools and templates are available in the guide.
GETTING STARTED
Individuals can pool their resources, not only to save money, but to share ideas, skills and support mechanisms. The net result of this is that individual budgets go further and ultimately Councils save money, but this should not be the starting point or the main driver. Many care managers and social workers have asked about the process for pooling - should it be introduced at the support planning stage for example so that savings can be built into the plan? The answer is not necessarily. Individuals will be ready for pooling at different stages in their DP life cycle, but usually not at the beginning. Local Authorities need to be flexible in their approach to approving pooling arrangements, and leave some flexibility for individuals to return to their independent arrangements if things don’t work out. Finance departments should be encouraged to understand the potential savings and allow flexible mechanisms to support group spending. Where managed accounts are concerned, finance departments should be encouraged to allow payments into a joint pooling account.
To summarise how you can help:
- Allocate resource to focus on pooling. Even if this is part of another role, it is important that there is positive encouragement for pooling arrangements and a safety net for when things go wrong.
- Encourage individuals to think about pooling when it’s right for them, not right for you.
- Allow flexibility in the budget so that it is possible to return to individual arrangements if necessary.
- Do not be too regimented in your approach or try to impose structure and process.
Pooling is brilliant way for individuals to meet likeminded people and do things they might not have done before or even dreamed about. Take a look at some of the inspiring examples here and put some thought to how you can also make it happen! For information on Ruils Pooling Consultancy and Training workshops, click here