Press Release 30/07/2009

SOCIAL SERVICES STATISTICS: AGENCIES AND CENTRES 2007

Spending on social services was up by 11% in 2007

10% of the population aged 65 and over was cared for by specialist social services

Expenditure on social services in the Basque Country came to 1,616 million euros in 2007, 11% up on the previous year and more than four points higher than the growth recorded by the economy for the same year (6.7%), according to Eustat data. This expenditure represented 2.45% of the Basque GDP and average expenditure per inhabitant was 753 euros, 530 of which came from public funds.

By province, the increase in expenditure was similar: 10% in Álava, 11% in Gipuzkoa and in Gipuzkoa. In per capita terms, Álava, with an average of 840 euros per inhabitant, remained ahead of the 741 euros in Bizkaia and the 733 of Gipuzkoa.

Graph: Evolution of the expenditure per inhabitant on Social Services

Source: EUSTAT

The contribution from the different public authorities came to 1,139 million euros, which represented 70% of the expenditure, while the remaining 30% came from the private sector. One out of every four euros spent (409 million euros) was financed by the user contributions and other sales. The elderly in homes contributed 177 million euros of this total, which accounted for 45% of the current expenditure of these centres.

The sector directly employed 4.1% of working women

Social services overall directly employed 24,203 people (2.5% of the people employed), 69% of whom were women, who, in turn, accounted for 4.1% of working women. This employment figure increases if the direct-care and home-care subcontracted staff are taken into account, as they are equivalent to 5,800 full-time jobs. Furthermore, there were 18,762 volunteers, who work free of charge for the social services, in 2007 and represented an equivalent of 1,682 full-time jobs.

Table 1: Evolution of the main variables

Source: EUSTAT

Among the diversity of the social services, the services for the population as a whole and for the elderly stand out as the areas to which the greatest amount of resources are dedicated, as between the two, they represented 66% of the expenditure.

Among the resources for the population as a whole, transfers to families, particularly the Basic Income (RB), with 174 million euros (+10%) and the Social Emergency Aid (AES), with 41 million euros (+7%), are the programmes that are particularly noteworthy, due to their size and evolution. These two programmes represented spending of 100 euros per inhabitant on average in the Basque Country. Special mention should be made of the importance of the first of them, the Basic Income, programme in Bizkaia, where it reached 116 euros per inhabitant.

Specialist social services cared for 10% of the population aged 65 and over

Care for the elderly by the social services is mainly based on providing residential services, day-care centres and the home care service.

In 2007, there were 18,051 residential places, which meant a coverage of 4.5 places per 100 elderly persons, aged 65 and over. In keeping with the trend over recent years, the number of residential places increased by 1,200 (+7%). The authorities offered 30% of these places through public centres and agreed a similar percentage (31%) with private institutions.

With respect to the day-care centres, the number of places came to 3,475 places (+8%). The Public authorities offered 46% of the places at public centres and the other 41% by means of agreements with private centres.

The home-care service (SAD) looked after 21,528 old-aged people in their own homes (5.4% of the population aged 65 and over).

With respect to 2006, the SAD increased the number of users by 14%, while the hours of care grew at a lower rate (+8%). The total expenditure of this service came to 77.2 million euros (12% up on the previous year), which was an annual average cost of 3,231 euros per user and was mainly financed by the public sector (90%).

Table 2: Evolution and distribution of the expenditure by type of population

Source: EUSTAT

For further information:

Basque Statistics Office C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz Tlf:+34-945-01 75 00 Fax:+34-945-01 75 01 E-mail: eustat@eustat.es Contact: Maite Ugarte Tlf:+34-945-01 75 99 Fax:+34-945-01 75 01 Online press releases: www.eustat.es