Unit costs

If we are to discover whether we are getting the best value for money fromsocial services, we have to know their true cost. Expenditure needs to be connected directly to the needs of children and families, and the services they receive. The help they receive is usually a mixture of services varying in both amount and costs. The only way to find out the real cost is to build it up from the unit costs of the component services.The book is intended to help managers of children’s services, particularly non-financial managers, get to grips with how unit cost are calculated.