Social services departments are spending far more on residential
care than on day and domiciliary care, according to the latest
Department of Health statistics.
Since 1994-5, residential care spending has risen to almost
triple that of day and domiciliary care, figures for England's
personal social services expenditure for 1998-9 reveal.
Nearly half of local authority gross expenditure was on
residential care with spending on day and domiciliary care in
1998-99 at 35 per cent.
Independent and nursing home spending for older people had
increased by 14 per cent in the past year to reach more than
£2 billion, while spending on council-run older people's homes
had fallen by 4 per cent during the same period.
www.doh.gov.uk