C.Co was commissioned to review the cost of residential care for older people in the Leeds City Council area.

Our approach

We looked first at the background market environment – the number of homes, care types and beds available to and used by Leeds City Council, based on data provided by the Council, as is analysis of occupancy levels and trends within those homes.

We then deployed our collection and analysis model to deliver a recommended and customisable model for the setting of fee rates based on a wide range of input parameters.

As the model has a range of variable inputs to enable the review of fee rate recommendations through an affordability lens. Our work also included the development of scenarios with which the Council could assess fee rate options by enabling the analysis of the impact of changes to the variable inputs, to indicate the sensitivity to variances and changes in the external environment.

At C.Co we believe that locally informed cost and quality modelling, based on actual costs incurred by providers is the most reliable and relevant to deliver the required outputs for the Commissioners.

C.Co facilitated Provider Workshops and undertook follow-up/individual meetings with Providers on request. The purpose of the workshops was to work collaboratively with providers to understand the cost elements that need to be considered when calculating a local cost of care.

Workshops involved:

  • Gaining local information on the cost elements to deliver care, thus giving everyone the opportunity to provide a return that will inform cost of care analysis.
  • Assumptions that are to be applied to costing elements (e.g. cost of capital, corporate overheads, profit)
  • Qualitative feedback from providers including developing a deeper understanding of the local market and pertinently the impact of COVID-19.
The outcome

The output of this phase was the design of a detailed questionnaire which we used to capture current information from providers including staffing; hotel costs; and overheads including profit. The questionnaire was issued to all selected providers electronically along with a deadline for completion. Providers were issued with easy to follow guidelines on how to complete the questionnaire and were also provided with dedicated online and telephone support from C.Co. A return rate of 44% was achieved.

Analysis of questionnaire responses informed our clear recommendations, enabled benchmarking with both nearest neighbours and core cities and informed budget setting discussions with the corporate centre.