Audit Commission analyses cost of social care for older people in a Value for Money briefing
The Audit Commission has released Social care for older people: Using data from the VFM Profiles, a briefing drawn from its Value for Money (VFM) Profiles. The briefing considers what influences the funding of this service and is aimed at the public and those interested in local government.
Jeremy Newman, Chairman of the Audit Commission, says: ‘We know that council spending on social care for older people is under pressure for a number of reasons. This includes reductions in government funding since 2010 – and the need to save a further 10 per cent in 2015/16 following the recent Spending Round. The number of older people is also rising and changes from The Care Bill and increased pooled budgets as announced recently will change the landscape in the medium term.
We show that £465 million could have been saved in 2011/12 if outlying councils reduced their spending in line with their comparable peers. There hasn’t been a more important time for councils to understand what influences their spending on social care for older people, to benchmark themselves against their peers and pinpoint areas where savings might be found.’
The VFM Profiles show how much councils spend on different services as well as how their costs and performance compare with other similar organisations and over time .
Adult social care spending is a matter for local council choice. Eighty per cent of the variation in councils’ spend on older people’s services is due to factors which are difficult for councils to control or influence, at least in the short term. However, 20 per cent of the variation differs for a wide variety of reasons, including many that are within the control of individual councils.
In 2011/12, spending levels varied from £630 to £2,715 per head across all types of council. On average, London boroughs spent substantially more, and county councils, substantially less, than other types of council..
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Notes to Editor
You may now view the Audit Commission’s Social Care for older people: Using Data from the Value for Money Profiles (July 2013) which also links to the Value for Money Profiles.
The VFM Profiles are widely used, with 9,000 visitors in the last financial year. Now with improved accessibility, they bring together data about the cost, performance and activity of local councils and fire authorities. The Profiles show how organisations are spending resources, what services they perform and how these costs and performance levels compare between organisations, and over time. Auditors use them to draw their value for money conclusions in annual audits, but anyone can use them: from Councillors and local government employees to members of the public. The Value for Money Profiles are an online tool that can help the public look at their council and how it compares with others, at a time when the transparency of public services is increasingly important.
Useful statistics:
- £9.07 billion was spent on social care for older people in 2011/12 to support 1.05 million people.
- Councils spend more on adult social care than any other service for which they are directly responsible
- Spend per head on social care for older people has fallen each year in all types of council since 2006/07.
- Total spend on social care for older people has gone down since 2010/11.
- In 2011/12, on average £1,158 was spent per resident aged over 65.
- Council funding reduced by around 26 per cent from 2011/12 to 2014/15, following the 2010 Spending Review
- The 2013 Spending Round will see a further 10 per cent reduction in 2015/16.
For further information please contact:
Nick Rigg, Communications manager
Direct line: 0303 444 8284
Mobile: 07970 906 112
Press office: 0303 444 8282
Email: n-rigg@audit-commission.gsi.gov.uk
The Audit Commission
The Audit Commission’s role is to protect the public purse. We do this by appointing auditors to a range of local public bodies in England. We set the standards we expect auditors to meet and oversee their work. Our aim is to secure high-quality audits at the best price possible.
We use information from auditors and published data to provide authoritative, evidence-based analysis. This helps local public services to learn from one another and manage the financial challenges they face.
We also compare data across the public sector to identify where services could be open to abuse and help organisations fight fraud.