Norwood has launched a consultation on a proposed £3 million reduction to operating costs. The process is set to last until the end of the year. In the increasingly austere economic environment, the organisation, which provides specialist care for children and adults with learning disabilities and families in need, faces important decisions to maintain the current level of service and staffing.
As a result of greatly reduced local authority funding, Norwood is facing a 20 per cent reduction in its £20 million annual statutory income, building to a reduction of approximately £4 million per year. A review into finding ways to lower the costs of services without reducing their quality was launched in July. The review focused largely on Norwood’s services for adults with learning disabilities, as this is the area of Norwood’s work that is most heavily funded by the Government. Children’s services will not be affected to the same degree.
Proposed money saving measures from the review include:
• A reduction in average hourly pay rates to bring Norwood into line with other social care providers;
• Increased use of technology, including sensors and alarms to improve monitoring of service users during the night and reduce overnight staffing levels;
• Increased partnership with local providers to deliver daytime recreational activities;
• A planned programme of redundancies and a recruitment freeze for vacant back office posts; and
• A reduction in the number of external suppliers to create economies of scale and further efficiencies.
Bernie Myers, Chairman of Norwood, said: “Local authorities are the main purchasers of our services. The Government’s Comprehensive Spending Review will lead to a drastic reduction in their available budgets. We are already feeling the impact of these significant cuts.
“Norwood must now either substantially reduce our fees, or face the prospect of our local authority purchasers going elsewhere to buy the services we have historically supplied.
“Failure to respond to this economic reality would put our entire organisation, our services and the people that we support at risk. This is something we cannot allow to happen.”
Norwood’s Board of Trustees is currently considering the review’s findings. The results of the consultation will be made known in the New Year. All proposed changes to the way in which support is provided will be subjected to rigorous risk assessments to ensure that the safety and quality of services are not affected. Decisions on staffing and wages will be considered with the utmost sensitivity.
Norma Brier, Chief Executive of Norwood, said: “We realise that this will be an anxious time for the people who use our services and our dedicated staff. We will do everything we can to support them during this difficult consultation period and beyond.
“Norwood has been providing a safety net for the most vulnerable members of the community for 215 years. We hope that these current proposals will ensure that we are able to continue to provide these life-changing services for generations to come.
