GUIDE TO THE COST PRESSURES SURVEY

Using the Cost Pressures questionnaire, we aim to improve our understanding of the impact COVID-19 has specifically had on costs and occupancy rates/care packages for social care providers across our region.

Once we have been able to collate and analyse our findings, we will communicate these issues and insights to Local Authorities and beyond, representing the interests of our membership organisations and the wider local care sector.

Why it’s important now

In their recent ‘The state of health care and adult social care in England 2019/20’ report, CQC state that ‘The legacy of COVID-19 must be the recognition that issues around funding, staffing and operational support need to be tackled now – not at some point in the future’. 

We would wholly agree with this and we want to continue to do all that we can do to help bring this about. We are asking you to help us to help you.

In addition to that, our recommendations in last year’s Cost Pressures report of an annual increase in cost of 5.24% for residential services and 5.72% for domiciliary care services were above but not actually that far removed from the 5% impact on provider costs identified by the Local Government Association and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services in their joint paper around Temporary Funding for Adult Social Care providers during the COVID-19 Crisis.

We know that these levels were not provided by commissioning authorities and as a consequence the burden of cost pressures on providers increased still further.

The information we need

We can work with the information we already have but what we currently don’t have is a sophisticated picture of the extent to which COVID-19 has impacted on both increased costs and any reduction in occupancy or care packages for providers of social care services. Helping us understand this is what this year’s questionnaire is designed to achieve. 

It shouldn't take too long

The Cost Pressure Survey is designed to be short and focused. It will require you to dig out a bit of information, but it shouldn’t take long. 

If you are not able to answer a particular question, then don’t worry but please just try and provide us with as much information as you can.  It is more useful to us to have the questionnaire completed with some gaps rather than not returned at all. 

Assuring your confidentiality

All information obtained via this survey will be treated in the strictest confidence. We are looking to establish and report on a general picture (with an evidence base to do this from) rather than the specific circumstances of any individual organisation or service

TIMEFRAME

We are looking to get our Cost Pressure report out to the local authorities from 16th December. Please submit online surveys by 30th November and send word document copies back to Mik Alban by the same date: mik.alban@careandsupportwest.com

Brexit

The questionnaire is not focusing on Brexit because the magnitude of the implications is currently unknown. The current indications however are that we are heading for a ‘no deal Brexit’. If that continues to be the case, the cost and staffing implications of that for providers is something the report will also focus on. 

If you have any concerns or insights that you would like to share with us about the impact of Brexit (‘deal’ or ‘no deal’), then the questionnaire does provide you with the opportunity to do this. We would encourage you to do so and it will help shape our overall thinking.  

Section 1

We want to develop a fuller understanding of the additional costs providers have incurred as a result of COVID-19. This could cover additional PPE or more indirect expenditure such as increases in insurance premiums.

We are asking for your additional cost as a % of income figure as this is the most effective way of presenting this information in terms of the % uplift required.

section 2

We want to know whether your Local Authority used additional money from the government to provide you with temporary additional funding in the first 2 to 3 months of the pandemic and the extent to which this was sufficient to cover your additional costs.  

section 3

We want to know the extent to which you were able to make use of the government’s Infection Control grant and whether you found its focus on managing staff sickness and minimizing staff movement to be ‘sufficient’ or ‘too narrow’. If they are going to make more money available, is it more helpful in enabling you to meet your additional costs if you can decide how you spend it or whether that should be determined by the government?

SECTION 4

We want to understand whether COVID-19 has affected your occupancy rates (if you provide accommodation as part of your service) or the amount of care packages you have been asked to take on (if you are a domiciliary care provider).