VCW final report.pdf (520.27 kB)
Valuing changes in welfare to individuals and society resulting from the government's provision of children's social services in England: final report
report
posted on 2007-07-02, 09:43 authored by Jean Soper, Lisa Holmes, Xiaozhen Hu, Enliz D’SouzaMeasurement for National Accounts purposes of the output attributable to
government-provided services requires a different approach from that used for
private sector goods and services. Public services, including Children’s Social
Services (CSS), are mostly supplied free of charge and therefore there are no
market prices by which their value can be measured. To advance the
methodologies used in the measurement of government output, an independent
review led by Professor Sir Tony Atkinson was set up. Its recommendations for
the measurement of government output, productivity and associated price indices
are set out in the Atkinson Review: Final Report (2005). Overall the Review’s
recommended approach is to directly measure output using indicators that capture
the full range of public services provided. In addition, ideally, these indicators
should measure the incremental impact of these services on client outcomes. As part of a move towards implementing this approach for CSS output, the
Department for Education and Skills (DfES) commissioned this study to explore
how one might measure the contribution that CSS activities make to the welfare of
service users and society more generally. The study’s remit was to advise on how
the recommendations of the Atkinson review might be implemented, and on any
improvements to data collections that might be required. Indicators to represent the various categories of CSS interventions were to be identified and combined
into a single annual index. The study’s aim was therefore highly challenging: to
recommend a methodology for producing a robust annual output measure that fully
reflects the change in welfare to individuals and society from CSS provision. This
final report presents the overall findings of the study. It sets out principles to be
followed in the measurement of CSS output and specific recommendations for
changes. The conclusions from the first stage of this study, which are reported in
detail in the Interim Report, are summarised in paragraphs 1.8 to 1.12 below.
History
School
- Social Sciences
Department
- Communication, Media, Social and Policy Studies
Research Unit
- Centre for Child and Family Research
Publisher
© DfESPublication date
2007Notes
This is the final report. Further information on this research is available at: http://www.info4local.gov.uk/documents/publications/246171.Language
- en
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