Official Statistics

Adult social care in England, monthly statistics: November 2024

Published 7 November 2024

Applies to England

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About these statistics

This is a monthly publication by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) of official statistics on adult social care in England. Official statistics are produced in accordance with the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 and the Code of Practice for Statistics, and meet high standards of trustworthiness, quality and public value.

These statistics are assessed regularly and any improvements in quality are incorporated accordingly at the next available opportunity. The scope of the data included in this publication is also assessed to ensure the value of these statistics is maintained. Data collection may change in response to shifts in priorities, leading to corresponding adjustments in this bulletin’s reporting.

Introduction

This statistical bulletin provides an overview on a range of information on social care settings. We are transforming the content of the publication to capture a broader social care picture and to utilise new data as it becomes available. Details of new data and content can be found in the ‘Publication updates’ section, below.

This report provides information on:

• occupancy levels in care homes at national, regional and local authority level
• uptake of COVID-19 autumn 2024 vaccinations (care home and domiciliary care staff) and flu vaccinations (care home staff and residents and domiciliary care staff) for the 2024 to 2025 season in adult social care settings at national, regional and local authority level
• visiting in care homes at national, regional and local authority level
• staff absence rates due to COVID-19 in care homes and domiciliary care at national, regional and local authority level

Data on COVID-19 and flu vaccinations in adult social care settings, occupancy and visiting in care homes and staff absence in care settings in this publication is taken from Capacity Tracker. Capacity Tracker is a web-based digital insight tool 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. Since spring 2020, the tool has also been used by DHSC to gather COVID-19-related data to help monitor the sector’s response to the pandemic.

For more information on data sources, the data previously published as part of this report and other published sources of adult social care data, see the background quality and methodology for these statistics.

Publication updates

Updates to current report

COVID-19 and flu vaccination in social care settings

The November 2024 publication includes statistics relating to the autumn COVID-19  vaccination and 2024 to 2025 flu vaccination campaigns in adult social care settings, which launched on 3 October 2024. This includes data on:

• flu vaccinations among care home residents and staff
• flu vaccinations among staff working in domiciliary care settings
• COVID-19 autumn vaccinations given during this campaign among care home and domiciliary care staff

Questions on COVID-19 and flu vaccination in social care settings became mandatory on Capacity Tracker from the start of the reporting window that opened on 8 October 2024. Data on 2024 to 2025 flu and COVID-19 autumn vaccination rates is available as of 14 October 2024.

In previous years we have published weekly data points for the above, but are now publishing monthly data points for this winter to align with the Capacity Tracker reporting window as used in visiting, absence and occupancy tables.

All COVID-19 vaccination information for care home residents is published by NHS England on the NHS COVID-19 vaccinations page.

Official statistics in development: client-level data

Statistics from client-level data (CLD) were published for the first time in this report in March 2024 as official statistics in development and will be updated on a quarterly basis. For the latest CLD figures, see the Adult social care in England, monthly statistics: October 2024 report.

Official statistics in development: digital social care records

Statistics on estimated uptake of digital social care records (DSCRs) were published for the first time by DHSC in April 2024 as official statistics in development and will be updated on a quarterly basis. For the latest DSCR figures, see the Adult social care in England, monthly statistics: October 2024 report.

Updates on future reports

The next publication will be released on 5 December 2024. Dates for future publications will be announced on the GOV.UK publication release calendar.

Official statistics in development: CLD and estimated uptake of digital social care records metrics will be updated in the January 2025 publication.

We are considering the possibility of ceasing the publication of seasonal vaccination data following the end of the autumn COVID-19 and 2024 to 2025 flu vaccination campaigns. If you are a regular or occasional user of this data and would be negatively affected by this change, please contact asc.statistics@dhsc.gov.uk.

Main points

This section discusses the main points of interest from the data tables, available on the Adult social care in England, monthly statistics: November 2024 page. For further detailed analysis on this data, see the ‘Further analysis’ section below.

Occupancy

As of the week ending 14 October 2024:

• 86.7% of beds in care homes were occupied
• 10.5% of beds in care homes were vacant and admittable
• 2.8% of beds in care homes were vacant and non-admittable

From February 2024 onwards, care home occupancy is calculated based on care homes that were active according to the most recent Care Quality Commission (CQC) registration data update in Capacity Tracker at the end of that month’s reporting window.

For more information, see the background quality and methodology for these statistics.

Figure 1: percentage of occupied, vacant and admittable, and vacant and non-admittable care home beds, England, 14 November 2023 to 14 October 2024

Source: Capacity Tracker

The main observations from figure 1 are:

• rates of occupied beds, vacant and admittable beds, and vacant and non-admittable beds have remained stable over the 12 months to October 2024
• since May 2024, the proportion of total beds occupied has remained just above the 12-month average of 86.0% and increased slightly between July 2024 and September 2024
• the proportion of total beds vacant and admittable has remained below the 12-month average of 11.0% since July 2024, with this proportion decreasing slightly between June 2024 and September 2024
• the proportion of total beds vacant and non-admittable has remained just below the 12-month average of 3.0% since May 2024, with this proportion decreasing slightly between August 2024 and September 2024

This data can be found in table 4 of the accompanying ‘Occupancy, visiting and workforce statistics, November 2024: data tables’ on the Adult social care in England, monthly statistics: November 2024 page, in addition to data by region and local authority.

COVID-19 and flu vaccination in adult social care settings

As of 14 October 2024, the proportions who had received an autumn 2024 dose of the COVID-19 vaccine were:

• 4.9% of total staff of older adult care homes
• 3.2% of total staff of younger adult care homes
• 4.2% of total domiciliary care staff

All COVID-19 vaccination information for care home residents is published by NHS England on the NHS COVID-19 vaccinations page.

As of 14 October 2024, the proportions who had received a flu vaccination for the 2024 to 2025 season were:

• 33.9% of total residents and 7.4% of total staff of older adult care homes
• 21.9% of total residents and 6.4% of total staff of younger adult care homes
• 10.7% of total domiciliary care staff

As data is self-reported by care providers, COVID-19 and flu vaccination rates are affected by response rates. In previous years, due to the reporting of full primary course COVID-19 vaccinations, all active providers who had updated Capacity Tracker at any time were included in the vaccination figures. This year, only those who have updated Capacity Tracker since the first 2024 to 2025 seasonal vaccination questions were added on 28 August 2024 are included. For more information, see the background quality and methodology for these statistics.

Visiting in care homes

In the week ending 14 October 2024, 99.6% of care homes in England were able to accommodate residents receiving visitors. This figure has been stable since September 2022.

Figure 2: percentage of care homes accommodating or limiting visits for residents, England, 4 January 2022 to 14 October 2024

Source: Capacity Tracker

Note: the dotted lines in this chart represent the implementation of the changes in care home visiting guidance or changes to the visiting question in Capacity Tracker:

• A: from 31 January 2022, no limits on the number of named visitors, with testing and guidance to support safe visiting in place
• B: from 4 April 2022, no restrictions on visitation in care homes. Every care home resident should have one visitor who can visit in all circumstances (including during periods of isolation and outbreak)
• C: from 4 July 2022, the visiting questions in Capacity Tracker changed so care homes were asked whether residents had been allowed visits in or out of the care home in the last month, instead of in the last 7 days
• D: from 31 July 2022, providers are mandated to submit data on visiting on a monthly basis. From August 2022 onwards, the data points in this graph are monthly instead of weekly
• E: from 5 June 2024, the visiting questions in Capacity Tracker changed so care homes could no longer respond ‘only in exceptional circumstances’ to the question of whether residents had been allowed visits in and/or out of the care home in the last month

The main observation from figure 2 is that the proportion of care homes accommodating visiting for residents has broadly increased since mid January 2022, with the exception of slight decreases in early April 2022 and early July 2022. This number has stabilised since September 2022.

This data can be found in table 1 of the accompanying ‘Occupancy, visiting and workforce statistics, November 2024: data tables’ on the Adult social care in England, monthly statistics: November 2024 page, in addition to data by region and local authority.

Staff absences due to COVID-19

In the week ending 14 October 2024, 0.1% of care home staff and 0.1% of domiciliary care staff were absent due to COVID-19-related reasons.

These proportions stayed the same for both care home staff and domiciliary care staff in the last month.

Figure 3: percentage of staff absent due to COVID-19-related reasons, England, 4 January 2022 to 14 October 2024

Source: Capacity Tracker

Notes:

• the proportion of staff absent due to COVID-19-related reasons is not comparable across care settings
• the dotted line in these charts represents the move to monthly reporting after the start of the mandatory data provision implemented on 31 July 2022. From August 2022 onwards, the data points in these graphs are monthly instead of weekly

The main observations from figure 3 are:

• since the peak of 2.9% in January 2022, there have been 2 further spikes in care home staff absence rates, in late March 2022 and mid July 2022. For domiciliary care absence, following a peak of 4.8% in January 2022, there have been a further 3 spikes, in late March 2022, mid July 2022 and mid October 2022
• from November 2022 to April 2023, absence rates due to COVID-19-related reasons remained broadly stable in both care homes and domiciliary care settings, and decreased between April and June 2023
• between June 2023 and March 2024, absence rates remained the same among care home staff, and decreased slightly in April 2024
• between June and October 2023, absence rates broadly increased among domiciliary care staff and decreased in November 2023. From November 2023 to February 2024, absence rates among domiciliary care staff remained the same, before decreasing slightly in March 2024, May 2024 and September 2024

This data can be found in tables 2 and 3 of the accompanying ‘Occupancy, visiting and workforce statistics, November 2024: data tables’ on the Adult social care in England, monthly statistics: November 2024 page, in addition to data by region and local authority.

Further analysis

Occupancy in care homes

There was some regional variation in care home occupancy rates. As of the week ending 14 October 2024, the percentage of total care home beds that were:

• occupied varied from 84.2% in the East Midlands to 89.2% in London
• vacant and admittable varied from 8.3% in the North West to 13.1% in the East Midlands
• vacant and non-admittable varied from 2.0% in the West Midlands to 3.8% in Yorkshire and the Humber

Data on occupancy and response rates can be found in tables 4 and 8, respectively, of the accompanying ‘Occupancy, visiting and workforce statistics, November 2024: data tables’ on the Adult social care in England, monthly statistics: November 2024 page.

As noted above, from February 2024 onwards, care home occupancy is based on care homes that were active as of the most recent CQC registration data update in Capacity Tracker at the end of that month’s reporting window.

For more information, see the background quality and methodology for these statistics.

COVID-19 and flu vaccination in adult social care settings

The proportions of providers that had provided data on the number of staff who received a COVID-19 autumn or flu vaccination, or the number of residents who received a flu vaccination, as of 14 October 2024, were:

• 98.3% of older adult care home providers
• 97.8% of younger adult care home providers
• 94.0% of domiciliary care providers

For full response rates, see the accompanying ‘COVID-19 and flu vaccination response rates, November 2024: data tables’ on the Adult social care in England, monthly statistics: November 2024 page.

COVID-19 vaccinations

There is some regional variation in reported COVID-19 autumn vaccination uptake among each of the adult social care groups. As of 14 October 2024, reported vaccination uptake among:

• older adult care home staff varied from 3.7% in London to 5.7% in the East of England and the North West
• younger adult care home staff varied from 2.2% in the East Midlands and the North West to 6.5% in the North East
• domiciliary care staff varied from 3.0% in Yorkshire and the Humber to 5.7% in the South West

Flu vaccinations

There is some regional variation in reported flu vaccination uptake among each of the adult social care groups. As of 14 October 2024, reported vaccination uptake among:

• older adult care home residents varied from 29.6% in London to 39.1% in the North West
• older adult care home staff varied from 6.1% in London to 8.8% in the North West
• younger adult care home residents varied from 18.0% in the North West to 27.8% in London
• younger adult care home staff varied from 3.3% in the North West to 11.2% in London
• domiciliary care staff varied from 9.4% in Yorkshire and the Humber to 13.8% in London

For more information, see the background quality and methodology for these statistics.

Accommodating COVID-safe visitation in care homes

In the week ending 14 October 2024, there was some regional variation in the proportion of care homes able to accommodate visits in or out of the care home for residents in all circumstances, ranging from 99.3% in the North West and Yorkshire and the Humber to 100.0% in the North East.

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 background quality and methodology for these statistics.

From 5 June 2024, the visiting questions in Capacity Tracker changed so care homes could no longer respond ‘only in exceptional circumstances’ to the question of whether residents had been allowed visits in and/or out of the care home in the last month.

Data on accommodating COVID-safe visitation and response rates in care homes can be found in tables 1 and 5, respectively, of the accompanying ‘Occupancy, visiting and workforce statistics, November 2024: data tables’ on the Adult social care in England, monthly statistics: November 2024 page, in addition to data by region and local authority.

Adult social care workforce

In care homes

In the week ending 14 October 2024 there was little regional variation, with COVID-19-related staff absence rates ranging between 0.1% and 0.2% across all regions. Since the week ending 16 September 2024, absence rates increased from 0.1% to 0.2% in the East Midlands and remained the same at 0.1% in all other regions.

Data on absences and response rates in care homes can be found in tables 2 and 6, respectively, of the accompanying ‘Occupancy, visiting and workforce statistics, November 2024: data tables’ on the Adult social care in England, monthly statistics: November 2024 page.

In domiciliary care

Absence rates in domiciliary care settings are not directly comparable with those in residential care homes.

In the week ending 14 October 2024, there was little regional variation, with regions reporting absence rates between 0.1% and 0.2%. Since the week ending 16 September 2024, absence rates increased from 0.1% to 0.2% in the North East, decreased from 0.2% to 0.1% in the South West, and remained the same in all other regions.

Data on absences and response rates in domiciliary care settings can be found in tables 3 and 7, respectively, of the accompanying ‘Occupancy, visiting and workforce statistics, November 2024: data tables’ on the Adult social care in England, monthly statistics: November 2024 page.

For more information, see the background quality and methodology for these statistics.

Terminology

Care home

Facilities providing residential care. The data in this bulletin refers to Care Quality Commission (CQC) registered care homes.

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.

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.

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.

Staff

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

Active Capacity Tracker locations

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

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 are vacant and reserved.

About this data

These statistics are being published as a part of a wider landscape of statistics on adult social care. The Government Statistical Service compiles a UK adult social care database of official statistics on adult social care across the 4 nations of the UK. This is updated on a monthly basis.

The UK Statistics Authority conducted a review of adult social care statistics in England, which called for:

• better leadership and collaboration across different organisations publishing official statistics. This publication has been produced in collaboration with other statistics providers of COVID-19 adult social care data and DHSC will endeavour to work with various stakeholders as more data is published through this publication
• addressing of gaps in available data, particularly in privately funded care. This bulletin aims to plug some of that gap by including data on residents privately funding their care in addition to those funded by local authorities
• improving existing official statistics. Statistics derived from Capacity Tracker are badged as official statistics and more data will be added iteratively based on user needs

Data sources

Data on COVID-19 and flu vaccinations in adult social care settings, occupancy and visiting in care homes and staff absence is taken from self-reported data submitted by care providers in England through a data collection and insight tool called Capacity Tracker. From 31 July 2022, this data is part of the subset of data that providers are mandated to submit on a monthly basis.

More detailed information about data sources can be found in the background quality and methodology for these statistics. This document also includes detailed information on:

• data coverage
• data quality
• relevance
• accuracy and reliability
• timeliness and punctuality
• comparability and coherence
• accessibility and clarity
• cost and burden

Revisions

Any revisions to past publications will be in line with DHSC’s revision policy and highlighted in future publications accordingly.