Home help provision to the elderly in France and England

Home help is less generous in France than in England. The different systems of administration and operation of the service in the two countries are discussed. The analysis reported used survey data on elderly people over 65 years old living in private households, from samples of 1001 in the London region and 1324 in the Paris region of Ile de France. The data provided information on incapacity, disability for household tasks, support from members of the household, and home help use. The data on disability were used to distinguish in both samples different groups of elderly people needing home help according to alternative criteria. Two measures of efficiency of allocation of home help were used; targetting of the service on those in the need group, and coverage of those in the need group. The ratio of coverage/targetting indicated whether it would be possible to provide for all those in the need group by redistributing existing home help services. In both samples, especially in Paris, the home help service was distributed particularly in favour of lone elderly people with disability for household tasks. For some need groups, targetting seemed equally efficient in Paris as in London, however, the coverage of the parisian system was less comprehensive than in London, reflecting the low overall provision of the service. The implications for policy making and planning for the home help service in France are discussed.