Guidance

Adult social care provider statistics, England: background quality and methodology

Updated 5 March 2026

Applies to England

Introduction

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) publishes the following statistics on adult social care:

• Adult social care provider statistics, England: quarterly update
• Adult social care client level data, England: quarterly update

These statistics are published to provide an overview of the adult social care sector, providing transparency and insight. The quarterly statistics publication aims to improve access to various data on adult social care by providing comprehensive, easily accessible bulletins.

This methodology document sets out information on the data sources and methodology used to generate the reports and data tables published as part of the ‘Adult social care provider statistics, England: quarterly update’ publication. It gives detail on the context, quality and coverage of data used in the quarterly statistics publication. These statistics were previously published on a monthly basis from May 2021 to December 2025 in the Adult social care in England, monthly statistics publication, alongside the background quality and methodology note.

As ‘official statistics’, these statistics are produced in accordance with the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 and the UK Statistics Authority’s Code of Practice for Statistics, and meet high standards of trustworthiness, quality and public value. 

Statistics that are covered 

These statistics currently cover: 

• occupancy levels in care homes
• number of people receiving CQC-regulated adult social care services
• visiting in care homes
• COVID-19-related absence rates in care homes and domiciliary care settings
• flu vaccinations in social care settings for staff and care home residents (seasonal)
• estimated uptake of digital social care records (DSCRs)

All data in the quarterly statistics publication refers to social care settings in England only. 

Data collection could be subject to change based on changes to priorities and therefore the reporting in the quarterly statistics publication will be adapted accordingly.

Data sources

Capacity Tracker

Data in the quarterly statistics publication is taken from management information submitted by care providers in England to a data collection and insight tool called Capacity Tracker for:

• occupancy in care homes
• the number of people receiving adult social care
• visiting in care homes
• staff absence in adult social care settings
• flu vaccination in adult social care settings
• the estimated number of adult social care provider locations that are in the process of implementing a DSCR

Background

Capacity Tracker was originally developed by NHS England and the Better Care Fund to enable the system to better manage hospital discharges by identifying available capacity in care homes. It enables care homes to share their vacancies in real time, meaning hospital discharge teams and other health professionals can rapidly search availability throughout England. 

Capacity Tracker was identified as a suitable tool for COVID-19 data collection from care providers. Its repurposing was announced through the then government’s action plan (15 April 2020) and joint letter (17 April 2020) from DHSC and NHS England together with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and the Care Provider Alliance. 

Current requirements 

On 31 July 2022, the submission of a core subset of data through Capacity Tracker was made mandatory through a provision in the Health and Care Act 2022 which received Royal Assent in April 2022. As per the formal notice, care providers are mandated to update Capacity Tracker with the required data within a designated 7-day reporting window. This window opens at the start of the 8th day of each month and runs until the end of the 14th day of each month, or the next working day where the 14th day falls on a weekend or public holiday. This includes data on: 

• care home bed vacancies, including total number of beds and occupancy
• number of people receiving CQC-regulated domiciliary care
• visiting into and out of care home premises
• staff absences related to COVID-19
• flu vaccination (seasonal)

Data on the estimated proportion of adult social care provider locations that are in the process of implementing a DSCR is taken from Capacity Tracker. This question does not fall under the formal notice of a mandate and as such this data may not be fully representative.

All data collected through Capacity Tracker is captured at a care home or home care location level. This means that no person-level information on sex or gender breakdowns is collected.

As of 31 July 2022, providers will, where possible, be given 3 months’ notice before new data fields become mandatory. The guidance on the mandatory data collection was updated on 15 April 2025.

The Adult Social Care Information (Enforcement) Regulations 2022 were made on 10 November 2022 and came into force on 1 December 2022. 

Response rates cannot be used to estimate the rates of compliance with the mandatory provision of certain data items as set out in the adult social care provider information provisions. Response rates during the reporting window as set out in the adult social care provider information provisions are not equivalent to compliance rates because there may be extenuating circumstances in which a provider has not responded for legitimate reasons. 

Changes to Capacity Tracker will be reflected in the quarterly statistics publication as and when they occur. 

Figures reported in the quarterly statistics publication are based on CQC registration data that changes monthly. Active Capacity Tracker locations are defined as having a CQC active status, excluding those with a current dormancy start date.

A care setting may notify CQC of a relevant change that affects our statistics. However, this may not be represented straight away depending on:

• when CQC is notified
• when CQC makes changes to their data
• when such changes are processed and reflected in Capacity Tracker

This processing period may mean that a small number of changes are not reflected in the published statistics released in the month of change. Some changes may be reported late to CQC or have an earlier effective date. These changes will not be applied retrospectively to this publication or in the corresponding data tables.

CQC provider information return

Data on the estimated uptake of DSCRs by adult social care provider locations is obtained from the provider information return (PIR). The PIR is managed by CQC. Each adult social care provider is required to complete their return annually, usually on the anniversary of their registration with CQC.

1. Occupancy in care homes

This chapter refers to statistics on occupancy in care homes.

Occupancy data collection

It has been mandatory for providers to submit care home bed vacancy data, including total number of beds and occupancy, on a monthly basis since 31 July 2022. For more information, see the ‘Current requirements’ section in the ‘Data sources’ chapter above.

The current Capacity Tracker data collection on care home bed vacancies started in June 2022, when fields were updated to identify the:

• total number of beds
• number of occupied or used beds
• number of (vacant) reserved beds
• number of (vacant) accepting admissions (admittable) beds

Prior to this, care home occupancy was derived from a location’s total number of beds and number of vacancies. 

Care home providers self-report their total number of beds, number of occupied beds, number of vacant and admittable beds, and number of vacant and reserved beds. The number of (vacant) non-admittable beds is automatically derived from the remainder of total beds that have not been accounted for. 

Every bed is assigned to one of 22 ‘long term’ vacancy types in Capacity Tracker. A care home may provide several different types of bed, which can be marked as ‘flexible’, meaning they are not always fixed to a certain need. For the purposes of this statistic, only the 11 vacancy types that are specific to adult social care are included, and the assigned vacancy type only is reported. For tables 4b, 4c and 4d of the accompanying ‘Occupancy, visiting and workforce statistics’ data tables, these vacancy types are aggregated into 3 groups for clarity:

• non-specialist residential
• non-specialist nursing
• specialist and other

Table 1 summarises the grouping of each Capacity Tracker vacancy type.

Table 1: Capacity Tracker vacancy type groupings 

Capacity Tracker vacancy type	Grouping
Dementia residential	Non-specialist residential
General residential	Non-specialist residential
Dementia nursing	Non-specialist nursing
General nursing	Non-specialist nursing
Community care	Specialist and other
Learning disability nursing	Specialist and other
Learning disability residential	Specialist and other
Mental health nursing	Specialist and other
Mental health residential	Specialist and other
Transitional	Specialist and other
Young physically disabled (YPD)	Specialist and other

How occupancy statistics are calculated

Care home occupancy rates are calculated using the reported total number of beds and the reported number of occupied beds. Occupancy rates are based on locations that submitted data during the relevant reporting window each month. If a location did not submit data in this period, it is excluded from reporting. Response rates are published in the data tables that accompany the quarterly statistics publication.

Coverage of occupancy statistics

Coverage of occupancy statistics is limited to care providers registered with and providing data to Capacity Tracker.

From the March 2026 report, the statistics published in tables 4a to 4d of the ‘Occupancy, visiting and workforce statistics’ data tables present one data point per month from January 2023. This reflects the data reported during the reporting window that month, up to 11:59pm on the last day of the reporting window.

Any care home that has not submitted data within the reporting window is excluded from the relevant analysis for that month. This is to avoid skewing the data. The full response rates for all data points are available in the accompanying tables. 

Where a care home location offers multiple vacancy types, only those vacancy types with a valid update within the given month’s reporting window will be included in the published statistics. All locations that submit a valid response for at least one vacancy type within the given month’s reporting window will be counted in the corresponding response rate.

Care home occupancy figures reported in the quarterly statistics publication are based on CQC registration data that changes monthly. From the March 2026 report, all occupancy figures reported in the publication are based on care homes which were active as of the most recent CQC registration data update in Capacity Tracker at the end of that month’s reporting window. Active Capacity Tracker locations are defined as having a CQC active status, excluding those with a current dormancy start date.

For data on the number of CQC-registered beds, see the ‘Care directory with filters’ section of the Using CQC data page.

How occupancy statistics can be used

The latest ‘Occupancy, visiting and workforce statistics’ data tables (and response rates in them) should always be used for the most up-to-date statistics.

These statistics can be used for: 

• comparing occupancy rates across local authorities and regions in England as self-reported by care providers, while taking into consideration the caveats presented in this document
• monitoring trends in occupancy rates over time, while taking into consideration the caveats presented in this document

These statistics cannot be used for: 

• comparing with occupancy rates in other countries of the UK 
• monitoring changes in the number of beds over time, due to the effects of response rates 
• monitoring trends in occupancy rates over time without considering the caveats presented in this document 
• identifying ‘suitable’ vacancies, as all admissions are subject to the appropriate clinical assessment and individual choice 

Statistical disclosure control methods applied to occupancy statistics

In order to prevent individuals or care providers from being identified in the data accompanying the quarterly statistics publication, disclosure control methods have been applied. 

Counts fewer than 5, and any related percentages, are suppressed. Secondary suppression has also been applied to ensure primary suppressions cannot be derived by subtraction. At local authority level, counts are rounded to the nearest 5 to avoid identification of care homes when the counts are low.

Within response rate tables, counts below 3 and any related percentages are suppressed. At local authority level, counts are rounded to the nearest 5.

Comparability and coherence of occupancy statistics

Capacity Tracker data is self-reported from care providers and comparability over time is influenced by response rates.

Occupancy statistics across UK nations

DHSC publishes adult social care data for England only.

The Government Statistical Service (GSS) UK adult social care statistics compares UK nations’ adult social care data.

Scotland

Public Health Scotland publishes annual statistics on care home occupancy by sector and main client group in the care home census for adults in Scotland.

These statistics contain no breakdowns for proportions of vacant and admittable or vacant and non-admittable beds.

Wales

Wales does not currently publish occupancy statistics.

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland does not currently publish occupancy statistics.

2. Number of people receiving CQC-regulated adult social care services

This chapter refers to statistics on the number of residents in care homes and the number of people receiving CQC-regulated domiciliary care.

People receiving adult social care services data collection

The number of care home residents is based upon occupancy data obtained through Capacity Tracker, specifically taken from the mandatory question about the number of occupied beds as a proxy for the number of residents. It has been mandatory for providers to submit this data on a monthly basis since 31 July 2022. See the ‘Occupancy data collection’ section in the ‘Occupancy in care homes’ chapter above for more detail.

The number of people receiving CQC-regulated domiciliary care is obtained through Capacity Tracker, specifically taken from the mandatory question ‘How many service users are currently registered and receiving care from your agency?’. Providers are advised to only report people receiving CQC-regulated care, but Capacity Tracker may capture a small number of service users solely receiving unregulated care. It has been mandatory for providers to submit this data on a monthly basis since 31 July 2022.

For more information on Capacity Tracker, see the ‘Current requirements’ section in the ‘Data sources’ chapter above.

How statistics on people receiving adult social care services are calculated

Statistics on people receiving adult social care are based on locations that submitted data during the relevant reporting window each month. If a location did not submit data in this period, it is excluded from reporting. Response rates are published in the data tables that accompany the quarterly statistics publication.

The number of occupied beds is used as a proxy for the number of care home residents. The number of care home residents is presented as a total and by 2 categories:

• younger adult care homes
• older adult care homes

Older adult care homes are defined as care homes serving any older people (aged 65 and over), as identified from the latest CQC data on care homes in the ‘older people’ service user band.

In order to classify older and younger adult care homes we use a combination of the monthly CQC care directory registers and the CQC application programming interface (API) for newly active care homes. When a care home is not found in either data source, the care home is classified as a younger adult care home until data is made available. This data can be found on the Using CQC data page.

Coverage of people receiving adult social care services statistics

Coverage of people receiving adult social care statistics is limited to care providers registered with and providing data to Capacity Tracker.

The statistics published in tables 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the accompanying ‘Number of people receiving adult social care services’ data tables present one data point per month from May 2025. This reflects the data reported during the reporting window that month, up to 11:59pm on the last day of the reporting window.

Any care provider that has not submitted data within the reporting window is excluded from the relevant analysis for that month. This is to avoid skewing the data. Trends in the data must consider response rates. The full response rates for all data points are available in the accompanying tables.

The number of people receiving adult social care is based on care providers which were active as of the most recent CQC registration data update in Capacity Tracker at the end of that month’s reporting window. These statistics cover care arranged or provided by local authorities, by the NHS and care arranged privately.

The number of care home residents is based upon adult social care vacancy types only. This statistic excludes other vacancy types within care homes such as hospice beds. See the ‘Occupancy data collection’ section in the ‘Occupancy in care homes’ chapter above for more information on care home vacancy types.

Some residents in older adult care homes may be aged under 65. Therefore, these statistics do not represent the number of adults in each cohort (younger or older adults) receiving care, but the number of adults residing in each type of care home. See the ‘How people receiving adult social care services statistics are calculated’ section above for more information on how care homes are classified in these statistics.

How people receiving adult social care services statistics can be used

The latest ‘Number of people receiving adult social care services’ data tables (and response rates in them) should always be used for the most up-to-date statistics.

These statistics can be used for:

• comparing the number of people receiving adult social care services across local authorities and regions in England as self-reported by care providers, while taking into consideration the caveats presented in this document
• monitoring trends in the number of people receiving adult social care services over time, while taking into consideration the caveats presented in this document
• comparing the number of care home residents in younger and older adult care homes, while taking into consideration the caveats presented in this document
• estimating the total number of people receiving CQC-regulated adult social care services, while taking into consideration the caveats presented in this document

These statistics cannot be used for:

• comparing with the number of people receiving adult social care services in other countries of the UK
• monitoring changes in the number of people receiving adult social care services over time, due to the effects of response rates
• monitoring trends in the number of people receiving adult social care services over time, without considering the caveats presented in this document
• comparing the number of care home residents in younger and older adult care homes, without taking into consideration the caveats presented in this document
• calculating the number of people receiving non-regulated domiciliary care

Statistical disclosure control methods applied to people receiving adult social care statistics

In order to prevent individuals or care providers from being identified in the data accompanying the quarterly statistics publication, disclosure control methods have been applied.

Counts fewer than 5, and any related percentages, are suppressed. Secondary suppression has also been applied to ensure primary suppressions cannot be derived by subtraction. At local authority level, counts are rounded to the nearest 5 to avoid identification of care homes when the counts are low.

Within response rate tables, counts below 3 and any related percentages are suppressed. At local authority level, counts are rounded to the nearest 5.

Comparability and coherence of people receiving adult social care services statistics

Capacity Tracker data is self-reported from care providers and comparability over time is influenced by response rates.

People receiving adult social care services statistics across UK nations

DHSC publishes adult social care data for England only.

GSS UK adult social care statistics compares UK nations’ adult social care data.

Scotland

Public Health Scotland published statistics on care home and care at home services funded by local authorities in the insights in social care report. These statistics were last updated in November 2023.

Public Health Scotland publishes annual statistics on the number of residents in care homes by age group and gender in the care home census for adults.

Wales

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) published statistics on the number of care home residents in Wales in the 2021 census.

Northern Ireland

The Department of Health (Northern Ireland) publishes statistics on the number of people receiving domiciliary care and number of residential or nursing care packages in health and social care trusts in the statistics on community care for adults report.

3. Visiting in care homes

This chapter refers to statistics on visiting in care homes.

Visiting data collection

The Capacity Tracker data collection on COVID-19 safe visiting in care homes started in May 2020 and it has been mandatory for providers to submit visiting data on a monthly basis since 31 July 2022. For more information, see the ‘Current requirements’ section in the ‘Data sources’ chapter above.

Care home providers self-report whether they are able to accommodate residents receiving visitors in all circumstances, exceptional circumstances or no circumstances. Exceptional circumstances are individually defined by each care home but are generally thought to be considered when residents are receiving palliative care.

On 3 April 2023, the COVID-19 supplement to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in adult social care settings in England was updated to reflect the removal of restrictions on visitors who were not symptomatic or had not tested positive under any circumstances. This supplement to the IPC guidance on managing specific infections was superseded by acute respiratory infection guidance on 31 January 2024. 

From the reporting window which closed on 14 June 2024, questions in Capacity Tracker regarding visiting changed, and providers could no longer respond with ‘visiting allowed in exceptional circumstances only’. Instead, providers self-report ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to whether visiting is permitted inside the care home and ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to whether visits are permitted off the care home premises. A provider is considered able to accommodate visits if they responded ‘Yes’ to either or both of these questions. A provider is considered unable to accommodate residents receiving visitors if they responded ‘No’ to both questions.

Visiting guidance and data trends

There are currently no restrictions on visiting in care homes under normal circumstances where individuals are not symptomatic or have not tested positive. However, during periods of outbreak or when a resident is COVID-19-positive, visits may need to be limited to one visitor at a time for each resident. 

The question on COVID-19-safe visitation in care homes is still included in the data collection.

Since 31 July 2022, this question is part of the subset of data that providers are mandated to submit on a monthly basis. For more information, see the ‘Current requirements’ section in the ‘Data sources’ chapter above. 

More information on the current visiting guidance can be found in the acute respiratory infections guidance, which accompanies the infection prevention and control in adult social care settings guidance. 

How visiting statistics are calculated

The proportion of care homes allowing visiting is calculated using the reported number of care home locations allowing visiting inside the care home and/or off the care home premises. A provider is considered able to accommodate visits if they responded ‘Yes’ to either or both of these questions. A provider is considered unable to accommodate residents receiving visitors if they responded ‘No’ to both questions.

Visiting statistics are based on locations that submitted data during the relevant reporting window each month. If a location did not submit data in this period, it is excluded from reporting. Response rates are published in the data tables that accompany the quarterly statistics publication.

Coverage of visiting statistics

Coverage of visiting statistics is limited to care providers registered with and providing data to Capacity Tracker.

The statistics published in the accompanying tables present one data point per month from August 2022. This reflects the data reported during the reporting window that month, up to 11:59pm on the last day of the reporting window. 

Any care home that has not submitted data within the reporting window is excluded from the relevant analysis for that month. This is to avoid skewing the data. The full response rates for all data points are available in the accompanying tables. 

How visiting statistics can be used

The latest ‘Occupancy, visiting and workforce statistics’ data tables (and response rates in them) should always be used for the most up-to-date statistics.

These statistics can be used for: 

• estimating the number and proportion of care homes that indicate they are accommodating COVID-19-safe visits within the care homes in line with current government guidance, while taking into consideration the caveats presented in this document
• monitoring trends over time, while taking into consideration the caveats presented in this document
• comparisons across local authorities and regions in England, while taking into consideration the caveats presented in this document

These statistics cannot be used for: 

• estimating the number of visitors in care homes and their infection or vaccination status 
• comparing with other countries of the UK 
• estimating rates of compliance with the mandatory provision of certain data items as set out in the adult social care provider information provisions. Response rates for visiting questions during the reporting window as set out in the adult social care provider information provisions are not equivalent to compliance rates because there may be extenuating circumstances in which a provider has not responded for legitimate reasons 

Statistical disclosure control methods applied to visiting statistics

In order to prevent individuals or care providers from being identified in the data accompanying the quarterly statistics publication, disclosure control methods have been applied.

At local authority level, counts are rounded to the nearest 5 to avoid identification of care homes when the counts are low. At regional level, some counts are rounded to the nearest 5 to avoid the disclosure of suppressed counts. Counts fewer than 3, and the related percentages, are suppressed.

Comparability and coherence of visiting statistics

Capacity Tracker data is self-reported from care providers and comparability over time is influenced by response rates.

Visiting statistics across UK nations

DHSC publishes adult social care data for England only.

GSS UK adult social care statistics compares UK nations’ adult social care data.

Scotland

Public Health Scotland published monthly statistics on COVID-19 safe visitation in care homes at national and NHS board level (organisations that are responsible for the delivery of healthcare in Scotland) as part of the COVID-19 statistical report. This contains data up to January 2023.

These statistics are not comparable with our statistics because they are produced from management information, whereas our statistics are self-reported.

Wales

Wales does not currently publish visiting statistics.

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland does not currently publish visiting statistics.

4. Staff absences due to COVID-19-related reasons

This chapter refers to statistics on COVID-19-related staff absences in adult social care settings.

Absence data collection

The Capacity Tracker data collection on staff absences related to COVID-19 started in December 2020 for care homes and independent CQC-registered domiciliary care providers.

It has been mandatory for providers to submit staff absence data on a monthly basis since 31 July 2022. For more information, see the ‘Current requirements’ section in the ‘Data sources’ chapter above.

Care home providers self-report their total number of staff in the establishment (nurses, care workers and non-care workers) and the number of staff absent due to COVID-19-related reasons. 

Independent CQC-registered domiciliary care providers self-report the total number of staff who have face-to-face contact with care recipients and the number who are not working because of COVID-19.

How absence statistics are calculated

Absence rates related to COVID-19 are calculated using the reported number of staff employed and the reported number of staff out of work that day because of COVID-19-related reasons.

Absence rates are based on locations that submitted data during the relevant reporting window each month. If a location did not submit data in this period, it is excluded from reporting. Response rates are published in the data tables that accompany the quarterly statistics publication.

Coverage of absence statistics

The statistics published in the accompanying tables present one data point per month from August 2022. This reflects the data reported during the reporting window that month, up to 11:59pm on the last day of the reporting window. 

Any care home that has not submitted data within the reporting window is excluded from the relevant analysis for that month. This is to avoid skewing the data. This means that the total number of care homes and staff varies over time and between tables. The full response rates for all data points are available in the accompanying tables. 

COVID-19-related absences cannot be directly linked to staff positivity rates. This is because absences related to COVID-19 can cover a wide range of reasons, including but not restricted to: 

• testing positive for COVID-19 
• isolating 
• caring for someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 
• suffering from illness related to COVID-19 

The total number of staff reported in these tables will be lower than the total care workforce, because only care homes who have filled in the relevant section of Capacity Tracker in the last 7 days (or during the mandatory reporting window where this is longer than 7 days) are included in the staff counts. If a care home has not recently responded to this question, their staff count will not be included.

How absence statistics can be used

The latest occupancy, visiting and workforce statistics data tables (and response rates in them) should always be used for the most up-to-date statistics.

These statistics can be used for: 

• estimating the number and percentage of staff absent because of COVID-19-related reasons, while taking into consideration the caveats presented in this document
• monitoring trends in COVID-19-related absence rates over time, while taking into consideration the caveats presented in this document 
• comparisons across local authorities and regions in England, while taking into consideration the caveats presented in this document

These statistics cannot be used: 

• as a sole indicator of all workforce pressures faced by the social care sector, since they only cover COVID-19-related absence 
• to directly compare absence rates related to COVID-19 between domiciliary care and care home staff 
• for comparing with other countries of the UK 
• for linking COVID-19-related absence rates with test positivity rates (see the ‘Coverage of absence statistics’ section above for more information)
• for inferring trends about staff headcounts as these are partly driven by response rates

Both the number of total staff employed and the number of staff absent might be affected by provider response rates as only numbers reported by providers in the last 7 days (or during the mandatory reporting window where this is longer than 7 days) are included in the total counts.

COVID-19-related absence rate statistics alone are not sufficient to give a full picture of workforce pressures faced by the sector - however, they may provide some insight on some of the challenges. Additional statistics, such as general absences, retention or recruitment could provide a more complete picture.

Statistical disclosure control methods applied to absence statistics

In order to prevent individuals or care providers from being identified in the data accompanying the quarterly statistics publication, disclosure control methods have been applied.

At local authority level, counts are rounded to the nearest 5 to avoid identification of care homes when the counts are low. At regional level, some counts are rounded to the nearest 5 to avoid the disclosure of suppressed counts. Counts fewer than 3, and the related percentages, are suppressed.

Comparability and coherence of absence statistics

Capacity Tracker data is self-reported from care providers and comparability over time is influenced by response rates.

In April 2025, an additional workforce report providing more information on the pressures faced by the adult social care workforce was published as part of this data collection. This information was received through an ad hoc survey. The survey covers more detailed insight into current workforce pressures faced compared to the previous year. This includes issues relating to recruitment, retention, staff morale and use of agency staff. See the Adult social care workforce survey: April 2025 report.

The workforce survey complements the regular collection by providing the opportunity to have a deeper exploration of workforce issues, which is possible in an ad hoc survey but would be too burdensome for the regular collection. The workforce survey collected information from both care homes and domiciliary care providers. 

Skills for Care publishes estimates of the number of adult social care filled posts as a measurement of the size of the adult social care workforce. See: 

• monthly estimates of filled posts 
• annual estimates of the size and structure of the adult social care sector and workforce in England 

Differences in data sources and methodology mean that these statistics are not comparable to those published in this report. 

Skills for Care’s monthly tracking data on staffing is based on the unweighted responses of a relatively small cohort of providers who have updated records in the Adult social care workforce data set in each respective month. This data may not be representative of the sector as a whole and therefore may only be indicative of general trends. Skills for Care uses a wider definition of domiciliary care than is used in Capacity Tracker and includes other services delivered in the user’s own home, such as supported living and extra care housing. 

Absence statistics across UK nations

DHSC publishes adult social care data for England only.

GSS UK adult social care statistics compares UK nations’ adult social care data.

Scotland

The Care Inspectorate published weekly statistics on COVID-19-related workforce absence within all care homes for adults and older people as part of the Care Inspectorate: COVID-19 statistics publication, based on responses to a survey. This data stopped being collected in October 2024.

Wales

Wales does not currently publish absence statistics.

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland does not currently publish absence statistics.

5. Flu vaccination in adult social care settings

This chapter refers to statistics on flu vaccination in adult social care settings.

Flu vaccination data collection

From 31 July 2022, seasonal flu vaccination data is part of the subset of data that providers are mandated to submit on a monthly basis during the months when an NHS flu vaccination campaign is active. For more information, see the ‘Current requirements’ section in the ‘Data sources’ chapter above.

Providers are only asked to review and submit the number of individuals who are reported to be vaccinated. Providers are not asked about those who are not vaccinated. This means that the number of individuals who have not received the vaccine cannot be directly derived from data published in these statistics, as there may be a number of individuals whose vaccination status is unknown to the care provider.

Flu vaccination data for the 2025 to 2026 season started to be collected in Capacity Tracker from 1 September 2025, with questions becoming mandatory from the reporting window that began on 8 October 2025.

How flu vaccination statistics are calculated

Flu vaccination rates are calculated using the reported number of staff and residents who have received a flu vaccination and the reported number of total staff and residents.

Reported 2025 to 2026 flu vaccination rates are based on locations that have updated Capacity Tracker since the first 2025 to 2026 seasonal vaccination questions were added on 1 September 2025. Response rates are published in the data tables that accompany the quarterly statistics publication.

Flu vaccination rates in care homes are presented as a total and by 2 categories:

• younger adult care homes
• older adult care homes

Older adult care homes are defined as care homes serving any older people (aged 65 and over), as identified from the latest CQC data on care homes in the ‘older people’ service user band.

In order to classify older and younger adult care homes we use a combination of the monthly CQC care directory registers and the CQC API for newly active care homes. When a care home is not found in either data source, the care home is classified as a younger adult care home until data is made available. This data can be found on the Using CQC data page.

Coverage of flu vaccination statistics

Coverage of flu vaccination statistics is limited to care providers registered with and providing data to Capacity Tracker.

Data is self-reported by care providers and since 31 July 2022 they are mandated to submit this data on a monthly basis. For more information, see the ‘Current requirements’ section in the ‘Data sources’ chapter above.

The vaccination statistics published in the accompanying tables present monthly data points to align with the Capacity Tracker reporting window as used in visiting, absence and occupancy tables. Data for care homes and domiciliary care relates to up to 11:59pm UTC on the day reported as ‘as of DD/MM/YYYY’. 

Only those providers who have updated Capacity Tracker since the first seasonal vaccination questions were added for that year’s campaign are included. Only providers who responded since 1 September 2025 are included in the published statistics for the 2025 to 2026 flu vaccination campaign.

Due to differences in data coverage, along with differences in campaign timing and the dates on which vaccination questions were added to Capacity Tracker, vaccination figures are not comparable to those from previous years as published on the Adult social care in England, monthly statistics page.

Some residents in older adult care homes may be aged under 65. Therefore, these statistics do not represent the vaccination rates among each cohort (younger or older adults), but the vaccination rates among adults residing in each type of care home. See the ‘How flu vaccination statistics are calculated’ section above for more information on how care homes are classified in these statistics.

The total numbers of residents and staff may include individuals who did not receive the vaccine for valid medical reasons, or where consent to receive the vaccination was not received or where their vaccination status is unknown. Staff refers to both those directly employed by the care provider and agency staff.

How flu vaccination statistics can be used

The latest ‘Flu vaccination statistics’ and ‘Flu vaccination response rates’ data tables should always be used for the most up-to-date statistics.

These statistics can be used for: 

• comparing vaccination rates across local authorities and regions in England as self-reported by care providers for flu vaccinations for the 2025 to 2026 season, while taking into consideration the caveats presented in this document
• monitoring vaccination rates over time for flu vaccinations for the 2025 to 2026 season, while taking into consideration the caveats presented in this document
• estimating the size of the adult social care workforce at a given time, using the total staff headcount provided in the accompanying tables, while taking into consideration the caveats presented in this document and noting the response rates in the accompanying flu vaccination response rates data tables

These statistics cannot be used for: 

• estimating the number of social care staff or residents who have not been vaccinated
• comparing with vaccination rates in other countries of the UK
• directly comparing vaccination take-up rates between different types of care home staff (directly employed and agency staff)
• estimating the number of vaccinations delivered each day
• monitoring adult social care workforce size trends over time using the total staff headcount provided in the accompanying tables without carefully considering the caveats set out in this document

As data is self-reported by care providers for their staff and residents, trends in the data must consider response rates as some care providers report the total number of staff or residents but not the number vaccinated.

Accuracy of flu vaccination statistics

A proportion of staff and residents will have an unknown vaccination status. This will have an impact on the deviation from the true value for all care providers.

Vaccination rates among care home staff vary substantially between those who are directly employed by the care homes and those employed by agencies operating within care homes. This could be due to different uptake rates of the vaccine as well as different proportions of staff whose vaccination status is unknown. Therefore, directly comparing the vaccination rate of directly employed staff to agency staff should be done with caution as the 2 groups are likely to have different percentages of staff whose vaccination status is unknown. Care homes are less likely to know the vaccination status of their agency staff due to the nature of their employment.

In order to classify older and younger adult care homes we use a combination of the monthly CQC care directory registers and the CQC API for newly active care homes. When a care home is not found in either data source, the care home is classified as a younger adult care home until data is made available. This data can be found on the Using CQC data page.

Validation checks are implemented by the data supplier to ensure the number of staff or residents vaccinated entered by care providers cannot be higher than the number of staff or residents.

Statistical disclosure control methods applied to flu vaccination statistics

In order to prevent individuals or care providers from being identified in the data accompanying the quarterly statistics publication, disclosure control methods have been applied.

At local authority level, counts are rounded to the nearest 5 to avoid identification of care homes when the counts are low. At regional level, some counts are rounded to the nearest 5 to avoid the disclosure of suppressed counts. Counts fewer than 3, and the related percentages, are suppressed.

Comparability and coherence of flu vaccination statistics

Capacity Tracker data is self-reported from care providers and comparability over time is influenced by response rates.

Due to differences in campaign timing and the dates on which vaccination questions were added to Capacity Tracker, 2025 to 2026 flu vaccination figures are not comparable to those from previous years as published on the Adult social care in England, monthly statistics page. More details can be found in the ‘Coverage of flu vaccination statistics’ section above.

Flu vaccination statistics across UK nations

DHSC publishes adult social care data for England only.

GSS UK adult social care statistics compares UK nations’ adult social care data.

Scotland

Public Health Scotland published a Viral respiratory diseases in Scotland surveillance report, including information on flu vaccinations among older adult care home residents under the winter 2025 to 2026 vaccination programme.

These statistics are not comparable with our statistics, because they are produced from management information, whereas our statistics are self-reported.

Wales

Wales does not currently publish statistics on flu vaccinations in adult social care settings.

Northern Ireland

Health and Social Care Public Health Agency published statistics on flu vaccination uptake under the 2024 to 2025 programme in the Seasonal influenza vaccination surveillance report, including information on uptake among care home residents and staff.

These statistics are not comparable with our statistics, because they are produced from management information, whereas our statistics are self-reported.

6. Digital social care records

This chapter relates to data on digital social care records (DSCRs). The DSCR metrics are:

• estimated uptake of DSCRs among adult social care provider locations
• estimated coverage of people receiving adult social care services with a DSCR
• estimated proportion of adult social care provider locations in the process of implementing a DSCR

DSCR data sources and collection

The 3 DSCR metrics use a combination of data sources.

Provider information return: usage of DSCRs among care provider locations

This data source is used to calculate the estimated uptake of DSCRs among provider locations and the estimated coverage of people receiving adult social care services with a DSCR.

The provider information return (PIR) is managed by CQC. Each adult social care provider location registered with CQC is required to complete a return annually, usually on the anniversary of their registration with CQC. PIR data is self-reported by adult social care provider locations. Provider locations are required to complete a different PIR for each type of service provided. This captures any changes that have been made to services and will consider how adult social care providers are ensuring their services are safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led. From December 2021, adult social care provider locations were also asked to capture whether a DSCR is in use within their care setting. CQC guidance on provider information returns for adult social care services was last updated in August 2024.

Excluding dormant providers, responses have been received from 90% of adult social care provider locations that are currently registered with CQC. The remainder of these non-responses are likely to account for adult social care provider locations that have been newly established in the last 12 months due to limitations around the timeliness of this data source.

Capacity Tracker: number of people receiving adult social care services

This data source is used alongside the PIR to calculate the estimated coverage of people receiving adult social care services with a DSCR.

The number of people receiving adult social care services is taken from Capacity Tracker. This is self-reported by adult social care provider locations. Provider locations registered with CQC are required to provide the number of people receiving adult social care services through Capacity Tracker on a monthly basis. For more information on the reporting window in Capacity Tracker, see the ‘Current requirements’ section in the ‘Data sources’ chapter above.

Capacity Tracker: DSCR implementation among provider locations

This data source is used to calculate the estimated proportion of provider locations which are currently in the process of implementing a DSCR.

Care provider locations can submit a response in Capacity Tracker to the question ‘Do you use a DSCR system, or are you in the process of setting one up?’. This question is self-reported. The question is non-mandatory and as such this data may not be fully representative.

How DSCR statistics are calculated

Data processing is applied to all statistics to calculate the estimated uptake of DSCRs.

Estimated uptake of DSCRs among care provider locations

There are several common data-processing steps which are applied to the raw PIR data. These are:

• excluding inactive and deregulated providers
• removing duplicated provider location submissions

The PIR is submitted annually by provider locations. This means that data reported by provider locations each month represents a snapshot in time from a sample of roughly a twelfth of the CQC-registered adult social care provider location market. To account for any variation in monthly samples, the statistics presented represent the reported use of DSCRs across a 3-month period, including the current and prior 2 months. For example, for the month of October 2025, the proportion of adult social care provider locations that have a DSCR will be estimated based on the total number of provider locations and total number of provider locations that reported using DSCRs in August, September and October 2025. To avoid duplication, we clean the data to use the latest provider location submission by removing earlier submissions within the 3-month period.

Estimated coverage of people receiving adult social care services with a DSCR

The number of people receiving adult social care services from Capacity Tracker, based on responses given during each month’s reporting window, is linked to each provider location’s PIR by a unique identifier. The estimated proportion of people covered by a DSCR is based on whether that provider location has indicated they use a DSCR in the PIR.

Only locations which have updated Capacity Tracker within the given month’s reporting window are included in the analysis. This is to avoid skewing the data.

The same data processing and 3-month averaging process is carried out as set out in the ‘Estimated uptake of DSCRs among care provider locations’ section above, following which numbers of people receiving adult social care services at associated provider locations are summed.

Providers can be registered with the CQC for more than one regulated activity or service and may need to complete multiple PIRs. If a provider location is solely registered as ‘shared lives’ or ‘specialist college’, we do not include the provider location in this calculation, as these services currently do not have to provide the number of people receiving care in Capacity Tracker. If a provider location has completed an additional ‘residential and/or community PIR’, we include the number of people receiving residential and/or community adult social care services once.

Estimated proportion of provider locations in the process of implementing a DSCR

Care provider locations which have indicated in Capacity Tracker that they are in the process of implementing a DSCR are defined as those whose most recent response, as of the end of the month, is ‘Yes - currently setting up system or in contact with supplier’ to the question ‘Do you use a DSCR system, or are you in the process of setting one up?’. These provider locations are presented as a proportion of all active locations that have responded to this question at least once. This question is not mandatory and as such this data may not be fully representative.

Coverage of DSCR statistics

All statistics refer to the estimated uptake of DSCRs by active CQC-registered adult social care providers in England and are calculated from self-reported responses. CQC registration changes monthly and the statistics are based upon the given month’s registration data. The statistics are presented at a national level only.

Estimated uptake of DSCRs among care provider locations

Table 1 in the accompanying data tables presents these statistics as one data point per month from February 2022, capturing information provided since December 2021.

Each data point represents an average based on the responses from provider locations which submitted a PIR within the 3-month period as described in the ‘How DSCR statistics are calculated’ section above. This will be affected by response rates.

Estimated coverage of people receiving adult social care services with a DSCR

Table 2 in the accompanying data tables presents these statistics as one data point per month from October 2022, capturing information provided since August 2022. This follows the commencement of the ASC provider information provisions on 31 July 2022. For more information on ASC provider information provisions, see the ‘Current requirements’ section in the ‘Data sources’ chapter above.

Coverage is limited to care providers who have submitted a PIR in the given 3-month period and are registered and providing data to Capacity Tracker.

Each data point represents an average based on responses from provider locations which submitted a PIR within the 3-month period and updated Capacity Tracker within the corresponding reporting window as described in the ‘How DSCR statistics are calculated’ section above. This will be affected by response rates.

This statistic excludes provider locations with service type solely listed as shared lives or specialist college.

Estimated proportion of provider locations in the process of implementing a DSCR

Table 3 in the accompanying data tables presents these statistics as one data point per month from January 2024.

Coverage is limited to care providers registered and providing data to the non-mandatory question in Capacity Tracker.

Each data point represents responses by active provider locations that have responded to the non-mandatory Capacity Tracker question at least once. This will be affected by response rates.

How DSCR statistics can be used

The latest DSCR data tables should always be used for the most up-to-date statistics.

These statistics can be used for:

• measuring trends over time in estimated uptake of DSCRs, while taking into consideration the caveats presented in this document
• measuring trends over time in estimated DSCR coverage of people receiving adult social care services, while taking into consideration the caveats presented in this document

These statistics cannot be used for:

• comparing use of DSCRs by geography or types of care setting
• adding published proportions between data tables due to differences in data sources and coverage

The estimated proportion of adult social care provider locations currently implementing a DSCR may not be fully representative and should be viewed only as an indication of the proportion of provider locations who may have a DSCR in the near future. This is due to the non-mandatory nature of the implementation question in Capacity Tracker.

Statistical disclosure control methods applied to DSCR statistics

Data is presented at national level. There is no risk that individual adult social care providers can be identified in the data tables.

Comparability and coherence of DSCR statistics

The PIR is self-reported and estimated uptake can be compared over time. Additional information is now also being provided through Capacity Tracker and this provides an additional source of comparability. The PIR remains the primary source of data on DSCR usage.

All data is self-reported from care provider locations and comparability over time is influenced by response rates.

Due to differences in data sources and coverage between metrics, proportions published in these data tables cannot be added together.

Timeliness and punctuality of DSCR statistics

These statistics are updated on a quarterly basis and include data points up to and including the last month of the previous quarter. The lag is to allow time for data to be processed and ensure quality assurance processes can be carried out.

Quality assurance of DSCR statistics

Data from the PIR is provided monthly by CQC one month in arrears. These statistics are processed by DHSC and quality assured by a professional analyst in collaboration with NHS Transformation Directorate prior to publication.

Data from Capacity Tracker is collected and quality assured as outlined in the ‘Quality assurance’ section of the ‘Statistical quality’ chapter above.

Text changes in the statistical commentary are made by one person and are then checked and cleared by another person afterwards.

Cost and burden of DSCR statistics

The burden of data collections sits with adult social care provider locations. However, attention has been paid to minimising the burden on adult social care provider locations. For this reason, data is collected through the existing mechanisms of the PIR and Capacity Tracker.

Revisions to DSCR statistics

See the ‘Revisions’ section of the ‘Statistical quality’ chapter below for information on revisions.

Statistical quality

This chapter measures the adult social care statistics against the dimensions of quality set out by GSS for statistical outputs. 

Relevance

These statistics are published to provide an overview of the adult social care sector, providing transparency and insight.

Accuracy and reliability

Statistics presented in the quarterly statistics publication are based on data which is self-reported by care providers and can therefore be affected by response rates. For more information on current Capacity Tracker requirements, see the ‘Current requirements’ section of the ‘Data sources’ chapter above.

Timeliness and punctuality

Statistics on occupancy, the number of people receiving adult social care services, visiting, staff absences and flu vaccination are updated on a quarterly basis and the data in each publication relates to up to 2 weeks prior to the publication date. The lag is to allow time for data to be collected and ensure quality assurance processes can be carried out. 

Information on the timeliness and punctuality of DSCR statistics can be found in chapter 6 above.

The frequency of these publications will be evaluated while DHSC continues to assess the needs of users and stakeholders.

Comparability and coherence

Information on the comparability and coherence of each statistic can be found in chapters 1 to 6 above.

Accessibility and clarity

These statistics are freely available on GOV.UK with all documents published in an accessible format. The statistical reports and ‘Background quality and methodology’ documents are published in HTML and accompanying data tables are published in OpenDocument Spreadsheet (ODS) format. 

This document is published to ensure users have sufficient information on how these statistics can be used. 

The commentary is written with the aim of being clear and impartial. DHSC will continue to assess user and stakeholder needs to ensure the commentary sufficiently meets their needs.

Quality assurance of Capacity Tracker data

Each month, a substantive amount of time and resource is available for quality assurance throughout the data journey, from the initial data input to the statistical publication. 

The following sections detail the steps taken to ensure the quality of the data published. However, because the data is self-reported by providers, there may be other small inaccuracies in the data which we are unable to identify through our quality assurance steps.

Data input and collection

The data is self-reported by adult social care providers through Capacity Tracker, a data collection tool owned and administered by North of England Commissioning Support Unit (NECS). Due to the nature of the data, there are risks of data being misreported or questions being misinterpreted. 

To mitigate this, in collaboration with care providers and stakeholders, NECS and DHSC continuously work together to revise the questions asked to providers, ensure they are understood correctly and that providers are able to provide accurate data. Any changes in wording of questions are flagged within the quarterly statistics publication as they might affect comparability over time. In addition, NECS provides ongoing support to providers through their support centre when they encounter difficulties with the collection system. Providers can call or email the support centre with technical queries and if they need guidance on specific questions, they can email DHSC directly.

In addition, the Capacity Tracker user interface includes numerous automated data validation checks - that is, data type and consistency checks which ensure that the data inputs are logical and realistic. A few examples include: 

• checks on fields to confirm the data entered has the correct data type - for example, where a numeric response is required, the system does not allow letters or special symbols 
• if the number of seasonal flu vaccinations inputted is more than the total number of individuals recorded, the provider is unable to submit their data until the data is revised 
• if the number of staff absences inputted is higher than the number of staff employed, the provider is unable to submit their data until the data is revised 
• counts of individuals (staff or residents) must be integers 

Once data is submitted by providers, NECS then performs additional checks to ensure the data is inputted correctly. For example, if a value differs substantially from the previous value inputted by a provider, the NECS support centre contacts the provider to confirm the value. 

Where we are unable to confirm the validity of the data prior to the quarterly publication date, affected data for the location in question will be excluded from the relevant tables and response rates. Once the data is confirmed, revisions will be made to these tables in a future publication, with any changes highlighted in the ‘Revisions’ tab of the data tables.

Data downloads

A snapshot of data submitted by care providers is downloaded by DHSC analysts at the end of each reporting window. The analyst then performs a series of checks on the data which includes ensuring that a realistic number of providers, compared to previous reporting windows, have submitted data within a specific snapshot. 

These data snapshots are then stored securely on DHSC systems, and only a restricted list of analysts have access to the data.

Data processing

The data is processed every month, using a reproducible analytical pipeline (RAP) using the statistical software ‘R’. This RAP has been set up so that only limited manual intervention is necessary each month to produce updated outputs. This means that the risk of human error is minimised throughout the process. All stages in this pipeline are quality assured by a professional analyst.

The data processing steps include a data cleaning stage and additional validation checks on the input data. For example, for non-numerical values, the RAP automatically checks whether values are included in the list of expected values. If not, the analyst processing the data must manually change the value, either to the nearest value, or flag it as a missing value as appropriate. This affects a negligible amount of data entries. 

Checks that are performed automatically within the RAP include: 

• checking denominators are equal or greater than numerators, for any rate calculations 
• differentiating zero values and missing values 
• checking monthly variations and flagging any substantial change which might be due to data quality issues 
• checking timeseries values match those from the previous publication, which is a way to ensure previous snapshots of data have not been altered manually 

All production code is written by DHSC analysts. Any changes made to the code or new code added is rigorously tested and peer reviewed before it is incorporated in the production process. 

In addition, version control is assured through the use of Git and GitHub. This version control software is used to track changes in code files and to ensure thorough verification and validation is performed every time the code is edited. Changes to a piece of code are systematically reviewed by a different analyst who takes on the role of quality assurer.

Statistical commentary

Text changes in the quarterly bulletin are made by one analyst and are then checked and cleared by another analyst afterwards.

Revisions

Revisions due to resubmission of data by providers will be made as outlined in the ‘Data input and collection’ section above. These revisions will be made in the next scheduled publication once this data has been validated.

Any errors requiring revisions to past publications will be in line with DHSC’s revision policy. Any unscheduled or substantial revisions that do not fit into the scheduled revisions criteria will be highlighted accordingly. 

Some data may be collected after the initial publication period and therefore may need to be revised over time.

Cost and burden

The burden associated with providing data through Capacity Tracker varies among questions and in line with provider resources. 

Since 31 July 2022, instead of a voluntary weekly update, it has been mandatory for providers to update a subset of data on Capacity Tracker each month, which further reduces the burden on providers. See guidance and impact assessment on the adult social care information provisions under the Health and Care Act 2022 for more information. Providers are still encouraged to submit data more regularly where possible. 

A high burden on providers to supply data might impact the quality of the data in terms of accuracy, coverage and consistency. Responses that have been submitted outside the reporting window or more than 7 days before the date reported in the quarterly statistics publication are excluded as part of the analysis for these statistics. 

To improve coverage, the relevance of questions is regularly reviewed in collaboration with care providers and stakeholders and questions which no longer provide value are adjusted or removed.

Terminology

Active Capacity Tracker locations

Care homes which have a CQC active status, excluding those with a current dormancy start date.

Care home

Facilities providing residential care. The data in this bulletin refers to CQC-registered care homes.

Care provider location

The term used by CQC for a care home or home care agency, noting some care home locations will also offer home care. The term also includes a small number of other social care locations which are neither care homes nor home care agencies.

Digital social care records (DSCRs)

Software solutions for recording a person’s care information. They replace paper records.

Domiciliary care

Services providing personal care for people living in their own homes. The data in this bulletin refers to domiciliary staff employed by independent CQC-registered providers.

Older adult care homes

Care homes serving any older people (aged 65 and over) as identified from the latest CQC data on care homes in the ‘older people service’ user band. A small number of residents within care homes serving older people may be aged under 65.

Staff

Unless specified, staff can refer to staff directly employed by a provider and/or through an agency.

Vacant and admittable beds

Beds which are vacant and available to accept an admission on the day of data submission, as self-reported by care providers in Capacity Tracker.

Vacant and non-admittable beds

Beds which are vacant but not available for admission on the day of data submission, as self-reported by care providers in Capacity Tracker. This includes the number of beds which that are reported as ‘vacant and reserved’ and derived remaining beds that are classified as ‘vacant but not available for admission’.

Younger adult care homes

Care homes not serving any older people (aged 65 and over) as identified from the latest CQC data on care homes in the ‘older people service’ user band.

Contact

We’d like feedback from our users about how you use our products, how well these products meet your needs and how they could be improved.

For feedback and any further questions, contact asc.statistics@dhsc.gov.uk.