Small fall in real terms spend on adult social care, figures show

Spending on adult social care services by local authorities in England fell by one per cent last year in real terms, according to Health and Social Care Information Centre figures.

Gross current expenditure in 2010-11 was £17.0 billion compared to £16.8 billion in 2009-10. Although this a one per cent rise in cash terms, it represents a one per cent fall in real terms and is the first year-on-year real terms fall in a 10 year time series from 2000-01, according to Personal Social Services Expenditure and Unit Costs – England 2010-11 – Final release.

Older people aged 65 and over, who account for just over half of money spent on such services, saw the biggest absolute expenditure fall between the two years. Spending on this and most other groups, including physically disabled adults and adults with mental health needs, fell by about two per cent. The only group to see a rise was adults with learning disabilities.

The report also shows overall spending on residential and nursing care also fell between 2009-10 and 2010-11, while overall expenditure increased on day and domiciliary care and Direct Payments to carers and users.

Real terms expenditure (referred to throughout this news release) removes the effect of inflation and allows time series information to be compared on a like-for-like basis. 5

Figures, in 2010-11 prices, show:

• Total expenditure in 2010-11 increased by four per cent compared to 2005-06.

• The biggest expenditure fall for any service user group between 2009-10 and 2010-11 was for older people aged 65 and over; falling from £9.64 billion to £9.44 billion. Older people now account for 55 per cent of total adult social care expenditure, compared to 56 per cent in 2009-10 and 58 per cent in 2005-06.

• The only group where expenditure rose between 2009-10 and 2010-11 was adults with learning disabilities, where there was a two per cent rise from £4.12 billion to £4.19 billion. This group now accounts for a quarter of total expenditure, compared to 24 per cent in 2009-10 and 22 per cent in 2005-06.

• Expenditure on residential care fell from £7.5 billion in 2009-10 to £7.2 billion in 2010-11. This service now accounts for 42 per cent of total adult social care expenditure, a decrease from 43 per cent in 2009-10 and 47 per cent in 2005-06.

• Expenditure on day and domiciliary care rose from £7.7 billion in 2009-10 to £7.8 billion in 2010-11. This service now accounts for 46 per cent of total adult social care expenditure, an increase from 45 per cent in 2009-10 and 41 per cent in 2005-06.

• Expenditure on Direct Payments rose from £810 million in 2009-10 to £960 million in 2010-11. This now accounts for six per cent of total adult social care expenditure, an increase from five per cent in 2009-10 and two per cent in 2005-06.

Health and Social Care Information Centre chief executive Tim Straughan said: “Today’s figures show spending on adult social care services in England fell by one per cent last year, when the effect of inflation is removed; the only year-on-year fall in the report’s 10 year time series.

“Today’s report shows that £17 billion was spent on adult social care by councils in England in 2010-11. Information included within the report, such as spending on day and domiciliary care versus residential care, is vital to gaining an understanding of how this significant area of social care is funded and how this is changing over time.”

Today’s report is published today alongside a report about social services workforce; Personal Social Services: Staff of social services departments – as at Sept 2011.

View the expenditure report at: www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/pssexpcosts1011

View the workforce report at: www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/pssstaffsept11

The HSCIC has also published two other social care reports this week; relating to activity of social services departments and also the National Indicator Set, which met the then government's commitment to introduce a clear set of national outcomes and a single set of national indicators by which to measure them.

View: Community Care Statistics: Social Services Activity 2010-11; final release: www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/finalcarestats1011ssa

View: Social Care and Mental Health Indicators from the National Indicator Set 2010-11; www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/finalsocmhi1011

ENDS

Notes to Editors

1. The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC), formerly the NHS Information Centre, is now known by its formal, legal name; reflecting its broader social care responsibilities.
2. We are England’s authoritative, central, independent source of health and social care information. We work with a wide range of health and social care providers nationwide to provide the facts and figures that help the NHS and social services run effectively. Our role is to collect data, analyse it and convert it into useful information which helps providers improve their services and supports academics, researchers, regulators and policymakers in their work. We also produce a wide range of statistical publications each year across a number of areas including: primary care, health and lifestyles, screening, hospital care, population and geography, social care and workforce and pay statistics.
3. The report provides top line findings for the latest 10 year period and detailed findings for the latest five year period. It contains breakdowns of expenditure by main types of service user; adults aged 65 or over, adults aged 18-64 with a physical or sensory disability, adults aged 18-64 with a learning disability, and adults aged 18-64 with a mental health condition.
4. Please note that the report also includes data on the user group; asylum seekers, which accounts for a small percentage (less than 0.5 per cent) of adult social care expenditure. There are data quality issues with the information relating to this group.
5. All expenditure figures quoted relate to Gross Current Expenditure, which is Gross Total Cost minus all income except that from client contributions and minus all capital charges.
6.    Difference between real and cash terms: a percentage increase or decrease between two years can be provided as an actual difference (cash) or a difference that adjusts for inflation (real) between years using the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) deflator (source: HM Treasury). The GDP reflects the prices of all domestically produced goods and services in the economy and is a much broader price index than other forms of deflator such as CPI, RPI or RPIX, which only measure consumer prices.
7. For media enquiries please call 0845 257 6990 or email mediaenquiries@ic.nhs.uk

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