What’s New?
Every month we focus on a topic which is interesting and relevant to joined up working. If you want us to focus on a particular topic please let us know.
How to... join up budgets?
What do we mean by this?
Joining up budgets simply means trying to make different organisational budgets and funding streams fit together. It can involve:
• Developing your understanding of budgets –simply knowing how different organisations’ budgets work, and understanding the various funding streams that contribute to your work can be a vital first step in joining up your budgets.
|
Find out more... ‘Scoping the pot’ – information on understanding budgets |
• Agreeing joint funding priorities and spending – this can be known as ‘aligning’ budgets. Each organisation keeps its own budget, and accounts for its funding individually. But decisions about how funds are allocated are taken jointly.
|
Find out more... Aligned budgets: a practical guide |
• Pooling budgets - this involves organisations contributing to one single joined up budget. Each organisation puts money into a central pot, and partners jointly take decisions about how the money is spent.
|
Find out more... Pooled budgets and joint commissioning |
Why is it important?
Joining up budgets helps your service users, and your organisation. It means that:
• organisations can tackle big issues in a co-ordinated way
• funds can be used in a more flexible and streamlined manner
• day to day decisions about funding can be taken more quickly
• you can get more for your money by co-ordinating your spending
• service users receive a more effective, streamlined service.
How can we do this?
|
Joint Procurement • In Warwickshire, eight local authorities have saved over £750,000 by working together to procure services • Find out how local authorities in Scotland have achieved efficiencies through procuring shared services • In England, two local authorities have set up a joint procurement unit Find our more... • Get guidance on how to jointly share services, as well as case study examples from Scotland. |
|
Pooled Budgets • One of the main areas where pooled budgets have been set up are in health and community care. In Scotland this has been led by the Joint Future agenda. • In Wiltshire, the Council and NHS set up a pooled commissioning budget of over £7 million to deal with community mental health services. This has also happened in Cheshire • In Bath, the pooled budget partnership agreement has been made available online. You can get detailed information on what the fund is for and how it is managed. Find out more... • Pooling budgets across sectors – guidance for English local strategic partnerships, but with useful lessons for Scotland. |
|
Aligned Budgets • In Angus the Community Care Partnership has scoped the resources available for service provision, and worked to align budgets. Have a look at their progress report. • The Scottish Government’s Concordat with local authorities focuses on joining up funding at a national level. Community planning partners must work together to develop single outcome agreements. This should encourage partners to align and join up their budgets in the future, to meet joint priorities. Find out more... Get advice about how to jointly plan budgets – along with good case study examples |
Where can I find out more?
• Our Joined Up Working Guide includes a section on Joined Up Budgets, with lots more information and examples.
• In England, work on joining up regeneration budgets is slightly more advanced than in Scotland. Find out more in this quick review of the English experience. It focuses on setting shared outcomes - and aligning funding – and pulls out lessons for Scotland.
Next month...
We’ll be adding new Profiles to the site, including:
• An example of pooled budgets in Hertfordshire
• A case study of the new Glasgow Community and Safety Services
• Information on Shared Services in Orkney
We are interested in building up our bank of case studies of Scottish examples of pooled or aligned budgets. If you would like to feature as a Profile please contact us.
