Mr. RalphHowell asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the annual cost of personal social services per head of working population, and per head of the number of people under social services care; and, for the National Health Service and the personal social services separately, what is the proportion of total expenditure taken up in administration costs.
§ Mr. John PattenNot all the information requested is available centrally. For 1982–83, local authority net spending on personal social services in England was about £95 per head of working population. No comparable figure is available for social services care provided by the private and voluntary sectors. Individuals can be "under social services care" in a wide variety of differing circumstances, ranging from permanent residential care to occasional support and advice.
Administration costs cannot be defined precisely and are returned on a different basis by the NHS and by local authorities. For the NHS the only information available centrally is on administration in headquarters units: this amounts to 4½ per cent. of total NHS current expenditure. For the local authority social services, the proportion of total PSS current expenditure spent on administration of residential homes is 5 per cent., of community and support services 4 per cent., and of fieldwork is 3½ per cent.