This report is the culmination of the centre’s research, commissioned by RAGE and Birmingham UNISON, into the issues surrounding the privatisation of care services for the elderly in Birmingham. The report contains a comprehensive analysis of the wide-ranging social and economic implications of the transfer of care services to the private sector, and demonstrates the inherently financial nature of council proposals. commissioned by Residents Action Group for the Elderly (RAGE) and Birmingham UNISON (July 2001).