RO3

We have continued to work closely with Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) seeking to understand discrepancies between figures in the RO3 and ASC-FR. Each year we carry out additional quality assurance checks and we require specific explanations of all such material discrepancies between these. Therefore, we ask that you liaise with your colleagues who fill out these returns in your local authority. Where there are legitimate reasons for differences, it would be helpful if you could provide us proactively with an explanation in your return.

Following a reconciliation exercise based on 2021-22 returns, where we contacted local authorities with a significant difference between net current expenditure in ASC-FR and RO3, local authorities were given the opportunity to provide context on their discrepancies. We published a high level summary of the differences through our Adult Social Care Activity and Finance Report, England 2021 -2022. The comments provided have been categorised below and include the reason for the difference and confirmation in the guidance where local authorities may have misinterpreted it:

Expected difference (which includes the following reasons):

Unexpected difference

Part of the return includes an RO3 Comparison to help assure CASSRs that the ASC-FR is consistent with their RO3 returns. It is not possible to fully populate the RO3 due to the difference in the analysis of expenditure, for example the analysis between employee costs and running expenses and the treatment of capital charges.

Other RO expenditure on items outside the RO3 return should be recorded on the other relevant RO forms and excluded from the ASC-FR. For example, expenditure on taxi-cards, concessionary fares and Freedom Passes should be recorded on the RO2 return (Highways, Road and Transport Services) not on RO3 and therefore should also be excluded entirely from the ASC-FR.

The purpose of this worksheet is to allow for comparisons to the RO3 collection. The previous section of this document gives further information on the comparability of RO3 and ASC-FR.

The worksheet is voluntary, and only the first two columns are for completion all other columns will be completed automatically. At the top right of the worksheet is information on the number of voluntary items completed and outstanding.

Ensure you consult the validations worksheet in order to identify and investigate any issues.

As with other worksheets, feedback can be submitted at the bottom of the worksheet, allowing you to provide additional context to your data, and also to let us know of any trouble you may have had in completing the fields.

Expenditure (and income) on the ‘non SALT & totals’ worksheet of the ASC-FR should match that entered on the DLUHC RO3 return as follows:

Improved Better Care Fund, Winter Pressures Grant and Adult Social Care Support Grant

The Improved Better Care Fund, the Winter Pressures Grant and the Adult Social Care Support Grant are classed as income from specific and special grants. They are therefore excluded from reconciliation against RO3. The associated expenditure should be captured in both the RO3 and ASC-FR.

Better Care Fund

The Better Care Fund is classed as income from the NHS (and associated BCF cell). This should be captured in both ASC-FR and RO3. In RO3, the BCF expenditure is included in the first three columns, as well as in ‘Other income’ which is netted off to arrive at the final column ‘net current expenditure’.