Article: Joint Commissioning Article Body Joint planning and commissioning is a tool for childrens trusts to build services around the needs of children and young people and to deliver their outcomes most efficiently and effectively. In Barnsley, we already have an excellent platform of existing joint arrangements for pooling and aligning budgets for the benefit of children and young people - notably between NHS Barnsley and the local authority - but also now through collaborative arrangements between schools and colleges, such as in the Alliance structures and in multi-agency team secondments. Brokerage is strong and there is some evidence of effective commissioning of the third sector. We are now beginning to see the benefits as local partners develop and implement joint funding agreements. Money is being concentrated and more effectively focused to help shape local services that are better able to meet the needs of children and young people. Successful joint funding can help to reduce overheads and generate economies of scale, bringing greater efficiency. A draft commissioning framework has been produced, which aims to establish a shared and consistent approach to the commissioning and procurement processes across the Children Young People and Families Directorate and other partners. The purpose of the framework is to begin to reshape the way that available resources are being used in order to focus on prevention and early intervention and ensure the best possible outcomes for children and young people, whilst ensuring we achieve value for money.