Project Overview

This study considered the calculation of local authority overheads. These are costs that cannot be attributed to individual cases i.e. are not case-specific and include expenditure on buildings, office running costs, management and so on.

With the aim of ensuring greater comparability of costs both between the public and the independent sector and between individual authorities, the formula currently used for calculating overheads was examined. The work investigated whether any changes are needed to increase transparency in the cost calculations and ensure that they reflect the true cost of running the organisation from which services are delivered.

Adoption overheads

A particular focus was the costs of overheads related to adoption. Seven local authority adoption teams and four voluntary adoption agencies provided data on expenditure.

This project carried out a detailed analysis of the indirect and overhead costs involved in finding adoption placements. It explored how far these overhead costs are commensurate with the fees charged for finding an agency placement and made comparisons between the costs involved in providing local authority and voluntary agency adoption.

Outputs

The results form part of a joint report with colleagues at the University of Bristol:

Selwyn, J., Sempik, J., Thurston, P. and Wijedasa, D. (2009) Adoption and the Inter-agency Fee. London: Department for Children Schools and Families.

Contact

Dr Joe Sempik, email: J.Sempik@lboro.ac.uk