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How our data is used to drive positive change in adult social care

We look at how our ASC-WDS data is creating positive change through policy, benchmarking and supporting the sector.

Earlier this month, we published our latest ‘The state of the adult social care sector and workforce in England’ report, providing a comprehensive insight into the current state of the social care sector, looking at issues such as vacancy rates, staff turnover, qualifications, and CQC ratings.

The report is used by the Government, local authorities and other key decision makers across adult social care to help and inform and plan decisions for the sector. And it's thanks to the 20,000+ adult social care providers sharing their data through the Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set (ASC-WDS) that this is possible.

We look at some of the ways the data from this report and our other workforce insights are helping to drive change for social care.

Informing policy and planning

There are many ways 小黄片app is helping the Government to understand social care and using data to drive change. It’s done through:

• response to formal inquiries and government reviews
• ministerial briefings
• direct requests for information from our analysis team.

Immigration policy is an interesting example. In 2021, the Migration Advisory Committee approached us to help with their review of the impact of ending freedom of movement. We provided data that highlighted the important role that non-British workers play in our sector. Then in 2022, the Government confirmed that social care workers would be made eligible for the Health and Care Worker Visa.

Measuring the impact of reform

We also get asked if our data can help measure the impact of specific reforms. For example, we collect information about how many people have been interviewed for care worker roles. This is used as a metric to gauge the impact of recruitment campaigns and policies which aim to make social care a more attractive career.

In 2023, we worked with the NHS Transformation Directorate to add digital jobs roles and training into our data set so they’ll be able to monitor the impact of their work to improve digital use in the sector.

Advocating for change

Trade associations and other bodies use the data in their role as advocates for change. For example, the Sector Pulse Check by Care England and Hft used our data combined with a survey of their members to highlight some of the issues providers are facing. It then recommends practical actions that the Government, commissioners, and other stakeholders can take to relieve some of the issues.

These include:

• reforming VAT
• establishing national commissioning standards
• making international recruitment more accessible
• increasing representation of adult social care on integrated care boards.

Increasing public awareness

Increasing public support for social care is an important step in ensuring the sector remains at the forefront for the Government. Our data gets a high amount of media attention which helps to raise wider public understanding of the importance of social care and everything it includes.

Supporting providers locally

We know that local authorities, integrated care boards and care associations use our local level data to inform commissioning and support providers in their areas. The Northwest Surrey Alliance have told us:

“As a place-based provider collaborative, adult social care is one of the areas that it is hardest for us to gain unified insights. The insights that come from ASC-WDS are a vital window for us to understand the actions that we can take to support the development of this workforce and sector.”

Read more about how our data is being used for local decision making and how integrated care systems are using our data.

Improvements for care providers

Care providers also use our data to benchmark quality improvements in their services. Using ASC-WDS, providers can see where they rank against local competitors on metrics like pay, vacancy rates and turnover.

Managers have told us that the insights have prompted them to make changes such as increasing their pay rates, bringing in a new in-house trainer and increasing the amount of shadowing for new starters. They’re then using their data to measure the impact of these changes.

Data can also give ideas to help providers make improvements in their services. Our latest report highlights that factors that are most strongly associated with higher CQC ratings.

Want to be a part of shaping the future?

Our data and insights come from over 20,000 care providers who use the Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set. It’s an opportunity to make your voice heard and there are also some great opportunities for your workplace. You can claim funding towards training your staff, manage information about your workers and their training, benchmark against other local providers and access special discounts and offers.

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