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Principles met

Despite having a similar homecare budget to most councils, Wigan Council oversees a system which generates some of the best homecare outcomes in the country and a wide range of additional positive social and economic impacts, including stable, well-paid local jobs, strong social connections,

This is not an accident or the result of demanding higher percentages of social value in contracts. It’s come from careful and deliberate system stewardship towards a shared vision of how a thriving care system should work.

Identifying Problems, Aims and Opportunities

The process started with Wigan Council Commissioners recognising the problems with the local care market and existing block commissioning approaches, including zero-hour contracts, poor care outcomes, adversarial provider-commissioner relationships, and rising unit costs. There were concerns that many of the block contract providers were primarily motivated by the opportunity to extract a profit, and had little interest in improving outcomes for users of the service. 

Commissioners began to explore what a better system would look like. The approach was underpinned by Council commitment to authentic partnership and collaboration valuing respective knowledge, expertise and insight to codesign a strong shared vision and model of homecare where everyone plays their part. 

The council saw beyond the narrative of social care as a financial burden to recognise its importance as a contributor to a thriving economy. Care is a key local employment sector and the council recognised the importance of a healthy functioning care system to provide good jobs in the borough. 

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