Expenditure on social services in the A.C. of the Basque Country came to 1,298 million euros in 2005, 8.5% more than the previous year, which accounted for 2.3% of Basque GDP, according to Eustat data. Average expenditure per inhabitant came to 606 euros, of which 422 came from public funding.

By province, there was a 4% increase in expenditure in Álava, 10% in Bizkaia and 8% in Gipuzkoa. In per capita terms, spending remained highest in Álava, with an average per inhabitant of 705 euros, compared to 590 in Gipuzkoa and Bizkaia.

Graph: Evolution of expenditure per inhabitan ton social services

Source: EUSTAT

The contribution of the various areas of the public administration came to 903 million euros, 70% of expenditure, while the private sector provided the remaining 30%. There was a notable figure of 162 million euros contributed by users in exchange for services rendered, representing 13% of current expenditure.

The sector employed 2.3% of people in work

In the area of social services as a whole, 21,941 people were employed directly, 2.3% of people in work, of whom 68% were women. If the number of subcontracted personnel for direct care is taken into account, with a full-time equivalent of 4,411 jobs, employment would rise by 20%. Half of this subcontracted personnel works in home care service.

There was an important increase (+20%) in the number of volunteers working in social services and which in 2005 came to 18,675 people, providing a contribution with a full-time equivalent of 1,061 jobs.

Table 1: Evolution of the main figures

Source: EUSTAT

Social services intended for the general public and specialist centres for the elderly stood out as the areas to receive the greatest amount of resources, accounting for 67% of expenditure.

Outstanding among resources intended for the general public, in terms of both quantity and evolution, were family benefits, including Basic Income (RB), with 145 million euros (+15%) and Social Emergency Aid (AES), with 39 million (+16%).

Specialised social services attended to 9% of people aged 65 and over

Residential services, day care centres and home care, formed the nucleus of social services care for the elderly.

With 15,559 places on offer, there was coverage of 4 places per 100 elderly people aged 65 and over. The availability of places, following the trend of recent years, increased by 3.6% due to the creation of 600 new ones. 36% of residential places were offered by publicly-run centres.

A total of 17,964 elderly people were cared for in their own home (5 per 100 elderly people), accounting for 90% of users of the home care service. Compared to 2004, the number of users rose by 5%.

Total expenditure on this service was 63.6 million euros (8% more than the previous year) meaning an average annual cost of 3,137 euros per user and was mainly funded by the public sector (90%).

Table 2: Evolution and distribution of expenditure by tuy

Source: EUSTAT