The volume of adult care output is measured in numbers of adults receiving continuous care, and hours of non-continuous care received, differentiated by the type of help. The source of information for this estimate is the Family Resources Survey (FRS), which asks whether any household members receive care, how frequently they receive it and what type of help is given. The cases where adults receive care from paid carers and those working for voluntary organisations have not been included in our analysis. In order to estimate the length of episodes of non-continuous care, we have had to make an assumption about the number of hours corresponding to the reported frequencies. We have divided the FRS care categories into personal care – dressing, bathing, changing dressings etc., and practical care – filling in forms,shopping, gardening etc. The FRS samples the adult population (aged 16 and over) in Great Britain, so the survey estimates have been grossed to the UK population using data derived from the Labour Force Survey, which exclude people living in institutions.

For further details, see Chapter 7 of the HHSA Methodology (downloads). See Sensitivity Analysis for results using alternative assumptions about the length of reported frequency of care received.

See Value for prices and value estimates.