This document summarizes a workshop on contingency planning for care provider failures. It finds that many local authorities have experienced residential, domiciliary, or specialist care provider failures in the last year. Most authorities believe more failures are likely in the next 12 months. While some authorities have contingency plans in place, others are less prepared. The document discusses defining different types of failures, when contingencies should be triggered, and elements that should be included in contingency planning guidance and tools to help local authorities better manage provider failures. Next steps include developing a draft guidance document based on workshop feedback and testing.

1. Planning to Fail
Contingency planning for care provider failure
Development workshop, Leeds
12 May 2015

2. Support landscape
Market shaping
IPC
Market resilience
Cordis Bright
Contingency
planning
LGiU/ADASS
MonitoringEngagement
Intervention

3. Failure rate
• of councils had a residential,
domiciliary or specialist care
provider fail in the last 12
months
• 63% at least one residential
care failure
• 48% domiciliary care failure
• 5% specialist care failure
77%
77%
63%
48%
in the last 12 months

4. Trouble on the horizon?
74% thought provider failure likely or very likely in 12 months
3%
44%
41%
11%
Don't know Unlikely Likely Very likely
7%
37
%49
%
7% 19
%
65
%
16
%
0%
DomiciliaryResidential Specialist

5. Readiness ratings
4400%
3900%
3000%
0
0.25
0.5
0.75
1
Residential Domiciliary Specialist
Prepared Very prepared Less prepared

6. Having a plan
• Have some kind of
plan in place
• Have a
comprehensive plan
in place
36%
59%
4%
Comprehensive plan
Some plans
No plan
36%
96%

7. What is failure?
• Financial failure
• Workforce failure?
• De-registration/
safeguarding
• Natural disasters
The inability to carry out contracted activities?
• Nursing de-registration
• Workforce failure?
• Geographic-area failure
• Retirement, fed-uppedness
• withdrawal from market
HARD FAIL SOFT FAIL

8. What is failure?
The inability to carry out contracted activities?
FAST FAIL SLOW FAIL

9. When is failure?
When should contingencies be triggered?
Signs of failure Reaction
Complaints
Cash flow
Monitoring
Embargos
Workforce
CQC???

10. What is failure?
When a care provider is no longer able to carry out its
es in full OR is unable to do so without support and interve
e means failure, but failure does not necessarily mean clo
Failure implies fault. Not always the case.
Failings are not failure.

11. Facilitated discussion
• How do we define failure?
• Top tips on managing failure.

12. What should contingency
support / provider failure toolkit look
like?

13. Progress so far
• Survey
• Background interviews
• Some case studies
• Development events
• Case studies: good residential
care, specialist care, provider
perspective, user perspective
• more sample plans
• understanding trigger points
• Business continuity/
emergency planning
DONE NEEDS

14. Background
and use
Typology of
failure
Case studies
Contingency
plan template
Existing plans
Developing your
plans
What we were thinking

15. Developing plans
• What can a local authority do in advance to make it easier
to deal with provider failure when it happens (contract
conditions and provider engagement for example)?
• What plans should a council have in place to manage
provider failure?
• Who should be involved (other services/ other local bodies/
neighbouring councils/ providers)?
• What is the role of elected members?
• Is there a need for sub-regional governance?
Workshop 1: Thinking about contingency planning

16. What do you think?
• What would you like to see in the guidance?
• What kind of specific tools would be useful to you?
Workshop 2: Shaping the Guidance

17. Next steps
• Circulating to reference group
• Drafting guidance, May-June
• Testing workshop, end June
• Virtual reference group,
• Publication, July

18. Contact us
Ingrid Koehler
Senior Policy Researcher
ingrid.koehler@lgiu.org.uk
Lauren Lucas
Head of Projects
lauren.lucas@lgiu.org.uk
www.lgiu.org.uk