There has been some unintended consequences of the way the funding cuts are landing in smaller contracts . Forced redundancy is now a possibility. There are concerns about timing of updates from CA. Cuts to the service come at the point where client need and complexity is sky rocketing.

CA are working with good intention and with factors outside of their control but the impact is that some LCAs have given reassurance to staff only to find that it was misplaced. Noted that there are some call centres who are looking to recruit so people may be able to find new jobs – note that this offers some comfort to individuals although it does not protect the service.

It is clear that there are vulnerabilities due to small scale working which have led to a fragile service. There are also long term issues on future bidding and lack of track record if local contracts are now being lost. Pooling resources with other services can help us all to hang on – working in partnership might help protect track record.