New dashboard to inform local authority social care planning launched in Wales

Welsh social care regulator, Social Care Wales, has launched a new dashboard showing local authority spend on social care.

This new dashboard is available in English and Welsh, as part of the national social care data portal for Wales and provides information about the expenditure of local authorities in Wales.

The main purpose of our dashboard is to make it easier for users to access the data they require. There is now a high-level view with trends of local authority expenditure on care and support services, to help inform service planning.

How does it work?

The dashboard features an easy to use system where you can view the expenditure and income for single or multiple local authorities in Wales across multiple years.

You can view trends in expenditure and income and compare these across a variety of service provisions.

What information can I get?

The data is split into three sections:

  • All social care expenditure
  • Adult services – including expenditure data on:
    • older people aged 65 and older
    • adults aged under 65 with learning disabilities
    • adults aged under 65 with a physical disability or sensory impairment
    • adults aged under 65 with mental health needs
    • other adult services for people aged under 65
    • service strategy for adult services
  • Children and family services – including expenditure data on:
    • children who are looked after
    • safeguarding children and young people’s services
    • children’s centres, flying start and early years
    • family support services
    • youth justice services
    • other children and family services
    • services for young people
    • asylum seekers children’s services

This enables local authorities to understand how their expenditure compares with neighbouring or other authorities and enables them to ask the question about potential efficiency savings.

On page 4 of the dashboard you can review the ‘cost per head’ data. This enables local authorities to directly compare expenditure across different authorities on a per head basis.

For example, in 2018/19 the expenditure per head on children looked after ranged from £34,000 to £56,000 per child, and the expenditure per head on adults aged under 65 with a learning disability ranged from £37,000 to £55,000 per adult in Wales.

If you would like to find out more, contact Social Care Wales.