They have the potential to really improve outcomes for children and families, providing a chance to target those most in need and an opportunity to guarantee universality in the delivery of children's centres. But they have to be made to work effectively. Any unintended consequences should be avoided and spotted in advance. This is the measure of the prize and the scale of challenge for all those participating in the trial programmes over the coming two years.
In these austere times, we know that government must ensure money is spent effectively on those who most need the support, and that it is delivering real, measurable results. But limiting access to children's centres to those most in need can, and does, result in increased stigma and a decline in the diversity and effectiveness of the services offered. By paying family services based on the results they deliver for the neediest families, while ensuring they remain open to the entire community, the government might have squared a difficult circle.
We will watch the results of the trials with interest. The areas range from Oxfordshire to Barking and Devon to Blackpool, so the results should provide a good gauge of what payment-by-results can achieve. If the trials are able to highlight what local authorities and their centres can achieve; learn more about the inevitable problems of the process and how to resolve them; and suggest how best to take forward services and ensure they deliver for those who most need them, while maintaining a universal offer, they will be a success.
A liberating theme of the trials is that local authorities can choose what they will be measured against. This will allow them to combine easily measurable results, such as the outcomes of the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile, with measures that are more averse to easy analysis - including the impact of services on vulnerable families. But local authorities must not just assume the "results" of children's centres can be measured solely by a more effective quality system or columns of figures. These have to mean real changes for families on the ground.
With the proper boundaries and caveats, the payment-by-results system could drive substantial improvement of support for families across the country. If they identify approaches that work and reward them with additional funding, sharing best practice will be encouraged - indeed, it will almost be required. Services that fail to deliver for children and families will also be forced to innovate and change to survive - which, in combination with the government's proposed approach to the "core purpose" of children's centres, will ensure that experts with experience of the sector will be able to use their skills to deliver improved outcomes across the board.
The inclusion of targets related to health and education should encourage local authorities and health agencies to ensure their services are joined up and work together to deliver the best for families. If payment-by-results can provoke health and education services to co-ordinate their efforts to support families, it will get a ringing endorsement in Prime Minister David Cameron's "family test" for new policies. Indeed, we would recommend that every local authority participating in the pilot looks to the family test as the basis for measurable outcomes. The better payment-by-results does against such a test, the better the results will be for families, the sector and the country.
So, we should be optimistic about this new way of financing support. It uses evidence while setting local authorities and local centres free to innovate in their delivery of services. But we must also set our sights high and demand a constant focus throughout on real change for families. They expect nothing less.
Anne Longfield is chief executive of 4Children.
