It’s clear from the Social Care Future Community of Support for councils that many commissioners, while operating in tough financial circumstances, know what good looks like in adult social care. In our work with commissioners, citizens and support providers a key problem is that day-to-day practice is shaped by a set of structural and legal anxieties that make better approaches hard to deliver.
This suggests that attempts to build more collaborative behaviours or skills will have limited impact without paying effective attention to these core barriers.
As part of the Fixing the Plumbing and Wiring initiative a national group with significant experience and expertise developed an initial commissioning and procurement factsheet. This sets these obstacles out clearly, and points to ways through them .
Common obstacles commissioners face:
Legal uncertainty: fear of challenge pushes teams toward over-specified tenders, even where the law allows more flexible approaches.
Procurement dominance: commissioning intent is often squeezed by internal rules, standing orders and risk controls designed for commercial markets.
Price pressure: tight budgets and benchmarking norms encourage hourly rates and time-and-task models, even when these undermine outcomes.
Short-termism: political and financial cycles make it difficult to offer contract lengths that support investment, innovation and workforce stability.
Collaboration anxiety: concern about being seen to favour providers can limit early engagement, co-production and market development.
Inconsistent national signals: equalities, human rights and fair work expectations are clear in principle, but unevenly embedded in commissioning practice.
Limited confidence in alternatives: grants, direct awards, alliance contracting and developmental approaches are lawful, but under-used due to lack of precedent and support.
Improving commissioning wont be achieved only by asking commissioners to be braver or more values-led. It’s also about removing barriers, clarifying legal flexibilities, and aligning organisational rules with what the law already allows and expects.
Social Care Future has started to engage with those that can help with this at a national level, including policy and regulator colleagues. We hope we can help build an appetite for action on them
