Speaking at its conference, 'Commissioning Children's Services: Partnership in Action', PLAchief executive Steve Alexander said, 'There is unease about how this will practically come together under the implementation plan for the ten-year childcare strategy. The PVI sector is diverse and needs project-based funding to support it. The funding process should not be highly bureaucratic because we are not talking about commissioning tangibles.'
The Centre for Procurement Performance at the DfES has been charged with the task of overseeing expenditure on service procurement in English education and children's services. Its target is to save 1.4bn in running costs in three years' time, which it says will be retained for re-use by services.
Centre director Ian Taylor told the conference, 'We need mixed skill teams and one strategic plan for local services. Commissioners will have to demonstrate through the way they work that they are operating on a level playing field. A widespread understanding of the real costs will be the benchmark.'
Delegates raised issues about the current bureaucratic costs involved in commissioning services, the need for more capital funding and the challenge of sustainability.
Steve Alexander said, 'We are not operating in a free market. Some full-time daycare workers are earning as little as 7,000 a year.
Childcare services need major subsidies.'