DfES Research: Valuing Changes in Welfare to Individuals and Society
31/05/07 16:59 Filed in: Social Care
| Research
This study investigated ways of
improving the measurement of the output of
Children’s Social Services in the National
Accounts. It was commissioned by the Department
for Education and Skills following an
independent review in 2005 led by Sir Tony
Atkinson, which recommended changes to the way
that government output is measured. Measuring
the output of Children’s Social Services
requires a different approach from that used for
private sector goods and services because there
are no market prices to indicate the value of
interventions. The Atkinson review recommended
that what ideally should be measured is the
incremental impact that interventions have on
client outcomes and welfare. 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
Children’s Social Services’ provision.