Unit Costs of Health and Social Care 2001

This is the ninth volume in a series of reports from a Department of Health-funded programme of work based at the Personal Social Services Research Unit at the University of Kent. The aim is to improve unit cost estimates over time, drawing on material as it becomes available, including ongoing and specially commissioned research. The costs reported always reflect, to a greater or lesser degree, work in progress, as the intention is to refine and improve estimates wherever possible, drawing on a wide variety of sources. The aim is to provide as detailed and comprehensive information as possible, quoting sources and assumptions so users can adapt the information for their own purposes. Brief articles are included to provide background to user services, descriptions of cost methodology or use of cost estimates. The editorial identifies the new developments in estimates included and key current issues in the estimation of costs and use of the information provided in this report. New in this edition: In this volume we have included the results of a survey of 32 local authorities to update salaries paid to social workers, care managers and home care workers. We have also included information on living expenses for residents of sheltered housing to facilitate like-with-like cost comparisons between these and other forms of accommodation and care. The results demonstrate that sheltered housing is far from the cheap alternative to residential care that is sometimes assumed. We have also included a new schema, or set of tables, describing average and predicted prices of independently provided homecare. One important change in this year’s volume has been the inclusion of a new Personal Social Services Pay and Prices index. For several years there have been concerns about the quality of the index used to indicate changes in pay and prices over the year. The new pay index, developed by the Department of Health, uses information about pay of administrative, professional, technical and clerical staff, social workers, nurses and care assistants from the New Earnings Survey and weights these to reflect the composition of the personal social services workforce. The prices element is currently represented by the GDP deflator. For most years the new index shows rather higher pay and price rises than the general Local Government Index developed by ONS and included in last year’s volume. A notable exception is 1994/5 when there was a drop in PSS weighted average pay and overall inflation was estimated as only 0.1 per cent