Strategic commissioning

Strategic commissioning involves:

• Understanding needs. Listening to people and learning what they need help with.
• Planning services. Deciding what services are needed and how they should work.
• Choosing providers. Finding the right groups to deliver the services.
• Checking results. Ensuring the services work well and help people.

TCA made it a legal duty for local authorities to commission effectively. They also require us to keep the market sustainable. This is to ensure a diverse, strong supply of support services meet the needs of Harrow residents.

The commissioning team

Our commissioning team arranges access to quality, cost-effective care services. We design the services. We do this in collaboration with a range of stakeholders and partners. These include:

• Health: North West London Integrated Care System (ICS).
• West London Alliance (WLA).
• Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS).
• Private providers.
• Internal teams (Public Health, Housing).
• Residents.

We work together to share our expert knowledge and best practices. We also share research and evidence-based methods. We aim to find service gaps and ways to improve. We also consider best practices and watch for changes in demand. Our aims and objectives are to:

• Shape good-quality services.
• Develop our co-production approach.
• Meet the needs of local people.
• Reduce inequalities.
• Provide the best local care with the use of assistive technology.
• Engage with the community. Engage with those who have experience.
• Develop a strength-based approach. Also an outcome-focused approach.
• Promote and support new market entrants.
• Work in collaboration with all partners. Promote integrated services where appropriate.

Commissioning intentions

A key goal of our commissioning team is to maintain support for as long as possible for:

• Children.
• Young people.
• Adults in their local community.

Our strategic commissioning is a way of helping to create a change in approach. We ensure that children, young people, and adults get the right support at the right time. We want to help all residents achieve full independence, choice, and control. This includes:

• Providing good information.
• Early intervention.
• Reablement.
• Prevention.

We take a strategic approach to integrated care and support. This allows us to plan with a range of partners and ensure we provide the right kind of help.

We aim to buy or develop strength-based interventions as soon as possible. It is to help people. It will let them learn new skills and regain their independence. We also aim to support other caring arrangements. This includes families and unpaid carers.

We work closely with many partners in the Harrow Place Based Partnership. This enables us to deliver on our vision and intentions. We need to ensure we deliver good, cost-effective services. We continue to improve services by listening to residents. This ensures that they remain at the centre of what we do.

Working with providers

We work with providers in the following ways:

• To stimulate service development and sustainability.
• We hold regular forums with our provider groups to promote dialogue. This includes us, our partners in Health, and our providers. Our partners are ICB and public health. This is a space to share information, support, and issues. It is also for providers to network with peers including:
• Safeguarding Team.
• Procurement.
• Quality Assurance and Contracts teams.
• Finance and Legal Teams.

Market Position Statement (MPS)

Our MPS provides information on the current demand and supply in Harrow, and future demand. It also states our commissioning intentions. The MPS is a dynamic document. It will be updated frequently. It aims to help our current and potential providers to develop their services. Download our MPS.