Analysis to Support the Development of the Relative Needs Formula for Older People: Final Report

Abstract

This report presents the findings of a study of social services for older people in England. The study was one of three studies commissioned in 2004 by the Department of Health to produce options for improved and updated formulae for allocating central government funding to councils with social service responsibilities (CSSRs) under the Formula Spending Shares (FSS) system. The FSS system for the allocation of resources for local authority services was replaced in 2006-07 by the system of Relative Needs Formulae (RNFs), and this report refers to the RNF system. There are three personal social services RNFs, covering children, younger adults and older people, and separate studies were commissioned for each of these client groups. A guide to the formula grant distribution system has been published by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (2006a), and full details of the distribution of grant are given in the Local Government Finance Report (Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, 2006b). The RNF formula for older people covers provision for people aged 65 and over in care homes, day care, home care and home help services, and meals, together with the associated social work and administration costs. The formula contains four components: a need component, a low income adjustment, a sparsity adjustment, and an area cost adjustment. The study described in this report was commissioned to examine the needs component