CIPFA and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services’ (ADASS) have updated the Social Care Risk Tool for discretionary use by councils with adult social care responsibility.
The aim is to check whether unsustainable financial pressures might be faced by the adult social services department. By assessing the extent to which various risk factors apply, the tool gives a broad impression of how challenging it is likely to be to generate future savings.
The questions are designed to enable informed consideration and facilitate discussions between finance and social care on the practical deliverability of budget proposals.
While the ideal is that the tool is applied in a universal manner across councils to provide transparency and consistency, it is designed to allow for local interpretation and application. Some of the metrics are more illustrative than prescriptive, particularly those relating to unit costs, and councils may wish to adjust these to reflect local circumstances.
This is work that’s always in development. To assist with any updates we will welcome feedback as to its usefulness and whether any changes would be helpful: please contact
customerservices@cipfa.org or E:
iain.macbeath@hertfordshire.gov.uk.