To ask the Minister of Health, pursuant to AQW 27128/17-22, to provide a comparison between the hourly rate charged by (i) Health and Social Care Trusts for care in the community that Trusts provide themselves; and (ii) the amount paid to independent care providers for providing the same service.

The Health and Social Care Board have confirmed the most recent figures (for 2020-21) as outlined in the table below. The table sets out the average cost per hour delivered in respect of Domiciliary Care for each of the 5 HSC Trusts as reported in the Trust Financial Returns for 2019-20, which have been uplifted for 2020-21 average price increases.

Domiciliary Care - Trust Expenditure as per 2019-20 Trust Financial Returns uplifted by 2.5% for 2020-21*

*The costs reported in the annual Trust Financial Returns are used to produce the Community Service Indicators and there may be disparities across Trusts in the information which they provide to produce these costings.

Statutory figures include direct costs (e.g. staff costs) as well as indirect costs (e.g. accommodation costs for the service team) which may vary across Trust areas. There may also be other reasons which may cause variation, e.g. different methods of capturing activity or one off costs in the year of collection.

The table reflects what it costs a Trust to directly deliver care, or to purchase from the Independent Sector. The HSC would have no information on the actual costs for Independent providers’ to provide their service.

It should be noted following on from the £23 million funding package I announced in November 2021 a funding package has been allocated against increasing the hourly rate paid, to a maximum of £18 per hour, for independent domiciliary care providers across all Trust areas, effective 1 November 2021.