C O N T E N T S
Page 2 Welcome letter Dr Andrew Larner, Chief Executive at iESE and iESE news
Page 3-5 Reflections from Canada: a tour of transformation ‘in the wild’
Page 6 Public sector collaborates on Covid-19 response
Pages 7-8 London Borough of Barking and Dagenham scoop UK Council of the Year 2020
Pages 9-10 Councils face double deadly virus threat as cyber crime rises during lockdown
EDITORIAL CONTACTS TRANSFORM IS PRODUCED BY: iESE, www.iese.org.uk, Tel: 08434 878 026 Email: enquiries@iese.org.uk @iESELtd CREDITS: Editorial by: Vicki Arnstein Designed by: SMK Design Views expressed within are those of the iESE editorial team. iESE is distributed on a triannual basis to companies and individuals with an interest in reviewing, remodelling and reinventing public services. © Copyright iESE 2020
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Public sector rises to the Covid-19 challenge no time in recent history has the UK public sector faced such unprecedented challenge. For local authorities, the weight of responsibility is enormous. Necessary public services have found ways to continue with a fragmented workforce as councils endeavour to help their most vulnerable residents.
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Dr Andrew Larner, Chief Executive
Even before the Coronavirus, local authority was facing increased levels of threat from cyber criminals, leading iESE to team up with experts Assurity Systems and Cyber Security Associates to offer Cyber Security Checks. Now, @LaverdaJota with more employees working on home-based systems than ever, taking steps to minimise the risks faced is vital (see pages 9 and 10). But it isn't all bad news. We've started to see communities pulling together in a way local authority was already keen to encourage, taking steps to allow councils to move away from being the paternalistic provider of all services to more of an enabling role. The NHS Volunteer Responders scheme, for example, was halted while it processed applications from 750,000 volunteers just days after the Government put out a call hoping to get 250,000 responses. The sector is also pulling together in a way the Local Digital Declaration sought to encourage by collaborating to aid the crisis (see page 6) In a sector that has seen dramatic changes through austerity, the pandemic has shown that we can still respond fast. And with this response comes new opportunity. Departments that might have resisted home working may now move forward with allowing employees greater flexibility. Services that were not previously online may now become so. Services local authorities felt unable to cut or reduce may now have that option as residents seek new solutions. There is a high chance that our new normal will look slightly different and, for local authorities, this could be the chance to grab the momentum and keep on running. Dr Andrew Larner and the iESE team
Pilot delivers significant children's services savings A PILOT OF CARECUBED CHILDREN'S HAS SHOWN THE TOOL CAN DELIVER SIGNIFICANT SAVINGS. CareCubed Children's was launched at the end of last year, building on the success of the existing adult version. The secure online tool is designed to give care commissioners clarity on the cost of care and help manage care spend. The feedback gained when building the children's version of the tool is that it is often difficult to reach a clear understanding regarding what is included in the price. Placements can often be quoted in the region of £3-5,000 a week, while figures show councils overspent on children's social care budgets by £800m in 2018. iESE Associate Consultant Diana Sherwood ran the informal pilot as part of her other role as an interim at two London Borough Councils. The pilot looked at seven
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placements and saved £325,000. One of the boroughs is now in the process of procuring a Children's CareCubed licence, while three other councils (two county and one unitary) have also signed up. "The pilot raised awareness of historic overspend in the commissioning of children’s care. Unfortunately, many local authorities feel defeated, believing there is little room to reevaluate costs. However, the pilots raised awareness and highlighted need to improve and widen negotiations with providers," she said. However, she stresses it is a transparent tool rather than one to 'beat providers up with'. "It is to ensure placements are value for money and there is sustainability on both sides. This tool is something new for all local authorities and there is a real appetite for it," she said.
CareCubed can help renegotiate emergency care packages THE FINANCIAL PRESSURE BEING PLACED ON COUNCILS AND CARE PROVIDERS BY COVID-19 COULD LEAVE MANY AT BREAKING POINT. Many emergency placements have been made to enable patients to be discharged to social care settings from hospital to free up beds within the NHS. The care packages being delivered have also changed with service users needing to be socially distanced and with providers facing greater demand for certain products and services such as assistive technology and a massive increase in PPE costs. Craig White, Business Development Manager at iESE, said: "These placements will need to be revisited, reconciled and renegotiated as we move forward to ensure the best care for the individual is provided and at a fair price. We will support customers through this because the financial pressures felt by all involved are significant and
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already stretched budgets could leave many councils and providers at breaking point. Every day and week that goes by without this reconciliation happening is critical and will translate into devastating consequences for all involved." He said iESE had received multiple examples from customers about the benefits of having a tool such as iESE's flagship digital product CareCubed® to document the care packages agreed, the correct price and consideration of how this splits between councils and Clinical Commissioning Groups. iESE is already engaging commissioners and providers in online workshops designed to share ideas. "The workshops will direct our short-term development roadmap and see iESE investing in further development to CareCubed aimed at specifically helping with COVID-19 related issues both now and in the months and years ahead."
New Business Development Manager: Craig White Craig White joined iESE in October 2019 as Business Development Manager and will provide strategic sales leadership going forward. His initial focus is on growing and supporting the customer base of CareCubed®. He brings more than 20 years' experience building software businesses and providing innovative solutions that make a real difference to all parts of the public sector. His knowledge and learning will feed into and help shape our future strategy. “I am excited to be taking up this role and diving straight into helping health and social care organisations through these very challenging times with a proposition that is low cost, quick to implement and offers significant and measurable immediate benefits to the sector,” he said. ● You can contact Craig at: craig.white@iese.org.uk
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