The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) will join other sector leaders at the National Children and Adult Services Conference (NCASC) 2025 to share insights and showcase examples of digital innovation that are improving the efficiency of service delivery and enhancing the experience of those who draw on care and support.

Building on the momentum and key insights gathered from NCASC 2024, Co-production Week 2025 and our consultancy and research programmes, SCIE will demonstrate how digital tools and approaches can be effectively developed, embedded and scaled to improve social care for both adults and children. These insights include evidence on how digital systems can reduce administrative burden, improve data sharing and enable strengths-based, person-centred practice at scale.

As social care leaders continue to face significant cost pressures, the case for digital innovation presents a huge potential opportunity. Through our work, SCIE continues to identify how digital technologies, when implemented with co-production and creativity at their core, can deliver meaningful, measurable improvements across the sector. For example, SCIE’s work with Bromley Council targets £2 million savings, with use of Assistive Technology already reducing care costs by nearly 30% (against a forecast 10-15%).

At NCASC 2025, we will host an exclusive reception and panel discussion on the future of tech-enabled social care with leader in lifestyle monitoring technology, Lilli. Together, we will show how digitally enabled strengths-based practice, smart implementation, creativity and co-production can transform local approaches and deliver better outcomes for people and communities, with live examples from Bromley and Medway Councils.

SCIE and Lilli are launching a strategic partnership to work with local authorities and Integrated Care Boards, helping them to plan, implement and embed digital tools with confidence, including reducing avoidable and unplanned hospital admissions, such as for people with long-term conditions.

Alongside our focus on digital innovation, we will provide a wealth of evidence-based resources and practical information around best practice. Our workshop will help local authorities and partners ensure the best possible outcomes for children and young people when using the Mental Capacity Act—and attendees are invited to visit us at Exhibition Stand C30 to discuss current challenges and learn more about how we can support you.

We have a responsibility as a sector to look beyond our immediate challenges and imagine what is possible. Digital innovation can transform the way we plan, deliver and experience care and support. It can make services more effective, efficient and safe—and afford people greater choice and control over their own lives.

Together, we have invested significant time and effort in digital innovation and gathered a wealth of invaluable insights and lessons. The next step is to translate this knowledge into meaningful, lasting improvement—and that’s what we’ll be showcasing at NCASC 2025.

Kathryn Marsden OBE

Chief Executive of the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE)

Notes to the Editor

Our insights from NCASC 2024 can be read here: NCASC 2024: SCIE Driving Digital Innovation in Social Care- SCIE blog

The highlights from Co-production Week 2025 can be read here: SCIE’s national Co-production Week 2025 uncovers new insights into innovation through co-production- SCIE

To find out more about our consultancy work, please contact: sciebusdevelopmentteam@scie.org.uk

About SCIE

The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) improves the lives of people of all ages by co-producing, sharing, and supporting the use of the best available knowledge and evidence about what works in practice. We are a leading independent social care charity working with organisations that support adults, families and children across the UK.

If you have any questions regarding this submission, please do not hesitate to contact Molly Pennington, Press and Media Relations Officer, at molly.pennington@scie.org.uk

Today, 31 October 2025, the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) has responded to the Government’s announcement that the first-ever full review of Personal Independence Payment (PIP), or the Timms Review, will be led by disabled people.

Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE, Associate Director at Think Local Act Personal, and Sharon Brennan, previously Director of Policy and External Affairs at National Voices, have been appointed as co-chairs, alongside the Minister for Social Security and Disability, Sir Stephen Timms. The Government has also launched a recruitment process for its wider steering group. 

The Government launched the Timms Review to ensure that PIP is fair and empowers disabled people to achieve better health, higher living standards and greater independence, including through employment.

The Timms Review is an opportunity to ensure that PIP can support disabled people and people with long-term health conditions to live with independence, dignity and choice. PIP must be underpinned by the principles of fairness and equality, with assessment and decision-making processes that are consistent and transparent.

SCIE welcomes the appointment of Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE and Sharon Brennan to the Review. Reform can’t be effective if it’s removed from the realities of people with lived experiences; it must instead recognise and respect their invaluable expertise and place them at the very centre of all conversations and decisions.

At SCIE, co-production with people with lived experience informs all that we do. We look forward to supporting the co-chairs and the wider steering group to drive meaningful change.

Kathryn Marsden OBE

Chief Executive of the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE)

About SCIE

The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) improves the lives of people of all ages by co-producing, sharing, and supporting the use of the best available knowledge and evidence about what works in practice. We are a leading independent social care charity working with organisations that support adults, families and children across the UK.

If you have any questions regarding this submission, please do not hesitate to contact Molly Pennington, Press and Media Relations Officer, at molly.pennington@scie.org.uk

Today, 24 October, SCIE has responded to the Care Quality Commission’s annual report, ‘The state of health care and adult social care in England 2024/25.’

The report highlights the critical issues across England’s health and adult social care systems.

The demand for social care is rising faster than the sector can respond. Local authority budgets have not kept pace with the growing complexity and volume of need, leaving many without the support to live safely and independently.

The consequences of this growing strain are felt most acutely by those already facing disadvantage. This report provides further evidence that people living in the most deprived areas often experience poorer outcomes and encounter greater barriers to accessing care. Older people, people with dementia, people with learning disabilities and autistic people, and people with complex mental health needs are also struggling to navigate services and access the support they need.

The inequities are deeply embedded in our health and care systems. Unless we focus on understanding and tackling the root causes, people who draw on social care will continue to face challenges in accessing care that meets their needs. As we work to reform social care for the long term, one clear priority must be to build a system that is fairer for all.

The rise in Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards notifications illustrates the pressures facing the system. In 2024/25, there were over 185,000, a 15% increase on the previous year. Many people wait far longer than statutory timeframes for authorisations, leaving them at risk of being deprived of their liberty without the protections the law intends. We welcome the major changes to safeguarding and protections under the proposed Liberty Protection Safeguards, which are needed to break the current norm where many people are still not receiving the important safeguards they require.

Community health and care services need immediate and sustained investment to meet these challenges, empower people to live with independence, dignity and purpose and support the delivery of the government’s NHS ambitions. This is a crucial step in establishing a resilient and sustainable system that is capable of protecting people’s rights and contributing to a fair and equal society.

Kathryn Marsden OBE

Chief Executive of the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE)

About SCIE

The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) improves the lives of people of all ages by co-producing, sharing, and supporting the use of the best available knowledge and evidence about what works in practice. We are a leading independent social care charity working with organisations that support adults, families and children across the UK.

If you have any questions regarding this submission, please do not hesitate to contact Molly Pennington, Press and Media Relations Officer, at molly.pennington@scie.org.uk

The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE), on 21 October, responded to the new Carers UK report, ‘State of Caring 2025: The cost of caring – the impact of caring across carers’ lives.’

The report lays bare the profound and multifaceted costs that are borne by the UK’s 5.8 million unpaid carers. It provides a detailed analysis of how financial pressures, inadequate support and increasing caring responsibilities are affecting unpaid carers’ lives.

The findings from Carers UK echo what we continue to hear across the sector—unpaid carers are the backbone of our health and care system, yet too many are reaching breaking point. The cost of caring is more than just financial; it is emotional, social and physical. As caring responsibilities intensify, too many people are being forced to choose between their own wellbeing, work and the people they love. This is not sustainable—for carers or for the system that depends on them.

As government action moves forward supporting the adult social care workforce through the Fair Pay Agreement, there is a pressing need for equal attention to unpaid carers. Carers should not be an afterthought in policy or practice—they should be at the centre of a reformed and fair care system.

Kathryn Marsden OBE

Chief Executive of the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE)

About SCIE

The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) improves the lives of people of all ages by co-producing, sharing, and supporting the use of the best available knowledge and evidence about what works in practice. We are a leading independent social care charity working with organisations that support adults, families and children across the UK.

If you have any questions regarding this submission, please do not hesitate to contact Molly Pennington, Press and Media Relations Officer, at molly.pennington@scie.org.uk

The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE), on Saturday 18 October, responded to news that the government will launch a consultation on Liberty Protection Safeguards to improve safeguarding for vulnerable people.

The proposed Liberty Protection Safeguards aim to deliver improved protection and an easier and improved system to allow carers, psychologists, social workers and families to provide care to vulnerable people in circumstances that amount to a deprivation of liberty.

We welcome the major changes to safeguarding and protections under the proposed Liberty Protection Safeguards. Implementation has stalled for five years against a backdrop of rising demand and escalating consequences; over 332,000 Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards applications were made in 2023/24, with only 19% completed within the 21-day legal requirement—and many people waiting over a year for completion. The Government’s announcement is a vital step towards addressing the unsustainable pressures we have consistently highlighted.

Every day, people are being deprived of their liberty without proper legal authority because the system designed to protect them is overwhelmed and misunderstood. This carries a profound risk of human rights breaches, particularly for people with learning disabilities, autism, dementia or long-term mental health conditions.

We strongly welcome the consultation next year and the long-overdue revision of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) Code of Practice. But with rising demand, mounting delays and legal ambiguity, continuing inaction will only deepen injustice and increase costs—both human and financial. Reform must now move from commitment to delivery.

Kathryn Marsden OBE

Chief Executive of the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE)

Notes to the Editor

The government’s press release is available at GOV.UK.

332,000 DoLS applications made in 2023/24 is cited in ‘Mental Capacity Act 2005, Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards, 2023-24’, available at NHS England.

19% of DoLS applications being completed within the 21-day legal requirement, with significant numbers waiting between 12 and 18 months for completion, is cited in ‘The state of health adult social care in England 2023/24’, available at CQC.

About SCIE

The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) improves the lives of people of all ages by co-producing, sharing, and supporting the use of the best available knowledge and evidence about what works in practice. We are a leading independent social care charity working with organisations that support adults, families and children across the UK.

If you have any questions regarding this submission, please do not hesitate to contact Molly Pennington, Press and Media Relations Officer, at molly.pennington@scie.org.uk

Today, 15 October 20205, the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) has responded to the new Skills for Care publication, ‘The state of the adult social care sector and workforce in England 2025’.

The annual report, comprised of data from the Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set, provides information about the adult social care sector and its workforce, including its size and structure, recruitment and retention, pay, skills and demographics.

Despite some good news about the care workforce in this report, we shouldn’t be complacent. The workforce has grown for the third consecutive year, and average vacancy and turnover rates have continued to fall. However, a detailed look at the underlying workforce pressures suggests breathing easy would be premature.  A relentless focus on improving care workers’ pay, working conditions and career opportunities remains critical to stabilising the social care system.

One driver of the workforce trends is international recruitment, but we cannot rely on international workers for the long term. As the report describes, the domestic workforce is still shrinking, and routes for international recruitment are being sealed off, reducing the pool of people available to work in the sector. Renewed attention to recruiting a home-grown workforce is urgently needed.

Of great concern is that workers’ pay has not kept pace with increasing experience. The report highlights that care workers with five or more years of experience are only earning 7p more per hour than new starters. A recognised career path that recognises workers’ experience with better pay is sorely needed.

Equally as concerning is the decline in workforce qualification levels, which raises questions about the sector’s capability for meeting the people’s social care needs. Increasingly, care workers require skills for delegated health tasks and caring for people with complex conditions. Investing in training and skills development must remain a top priority for all care employers, along with a pay structure that rewards increasing skills.

We know that pay is a principal driver of reducing turnover and improving recruitment. The Fair Pay Agreement, due to be introduced under the Employment Rights Bill, is a welcome step towards recognising care as a skilled profession. That said, the £500 million announced in September to fund the Fair Pay Agreement translates to an estimated average increase of just 20p per hour, according to think tanks. This will not scratch the surface of being able to bring care worker pay in line with equivalent roles in the NHS, nor address the pay disparity in the sector.

As the Fair Pay Agreement enters into its consultation phase and the Casey Commission begins to build in momentum, the Workforce Strategy for Adult Social Care, led by Skills for Care, should be seen as a guidebook for action. Delivering solutions for our workforce is not something we can continue to stray from; with 470,000 new posts needed by 2040, we need bold, funded solutions that will secure the future sustainability of the sector.

The workforce is our sector’s beating heart. Every day, those working in care go above and beyond to provide the support that transforms lives, enabling people to live with greater independence, dignity and purpose. Their work sustains families and communities, eases pressure on our other public services and, as this report evidences, contributes £77.8 billion each year to the wider economy—more than the accommodation and food service industry.

Kathryn Marsden OBE

Chief Executive of the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE)

About SCIE

The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) improves the lives of people of all ages by co-producing, sharing, and supporting the use of the best available knowledge and evidence about what works in practice. We are a leading independent social care charity working with organisations that support adults, families and children across the UK.

If you have any questions regarding this submission, please do not hesitate to contact Molly Pennington, Press and Media Relations Officer, at molly.pennington@scie.org.uk

The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) has today, Wednesday 8 October, responded to The King’s Fund’s report, ‘Fixing social care: the six key problems and how to tackle them.’

The report presents an overview of the policy issues, options, conundrums and difficult choices that the Casey Commission will be grappling with as it sets out plans for fixing the social care system in England. There are clearly no easy fixes. SCIE looks forward to working with the Casey Commission and sector colleagues to debate these issues further.

This report offers a striking and sobering reminder that the social care system is falling far short of the standards we all expect from it.

Social care can empower people of all ages and circumstances to live with dignity, independence and choice. It ought to be the cornerstone of a fair and inclusive society; what we are seeing instead is a system characterised by challenges.

The report highlights that deep reform—reform that is principled and strategic—is necessary. The Casey Commission offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver this, but it can’t become just another report that disappears into Whitehall’s ‘too hard’ box. The Casey Commission must deliver where others have failed and provide answers to the difficult questions which have led to public and political stalemates, not least how we fund our social care system.

The report makes the case for a national system of assessing people’s needs. Bold solutions are required to address the challenges facing the social care sector, in particular those related to access, quality and fragmentation. The government has committed to underpinning its National Care Service with national standards of care. At SCIE, we look forward to working with sector partners and people with lived experience to develop a framework for these standards.

Kathryn Marsden OBE (formerly Kathryn Smith)

Chief Executive of the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE)

About SCIE

The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) improves the lives of people of all ages by co-producing, sharing, and supporting the use of the best available knowledge and evidence about what works in practice. We are a leading independent social care charity working with organisations that support adults, families and children across the UK.

If you have any questions regarding this submission, please do not hesitate to contact Molly Pennington, Press and Media Relations Officer, at molly.pennington@scie.org.uk

The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) and The Access Group are bringing together people who draw on care and support, sector leaders and practitioners to shape the future of adult social care in England.

This government set out plans in its manifesto to reform the adult social care system. This will include creating a National Care Service underpinned by national standards, delivering consistency of care across the country. However, the details of what those standards will entail, and how they will be delivered, are still to be determined.

To support this ambition, SCIE and The Access Group are convening a series of policy roundtables to develop a framework for national standards of care. The initiative will build a shared vision of how national standards can deliver consistency, equity and quality across the country.

The four roundtables, which will take place in October and November, will explore key themes including purpose and personalisation, data and technology, integration across health and housing and accountability. Insights from these discussions will be published in a report in January 2026 and submitted to the Casey Commission to inform Phase One of its work.

Good social care supports people of all ages to live with dignity, independence and confidence—but its availability is determined by a postcode lottery that leaves too many behind. National standards can act as a levelling force, clarifying expectations for people drawing on care, providers, and commissioners alike, without undermining local innovation.

Through these roundtables, we are doing the work to build the framework in which national standards can be developed—turning ambition into practical, actional proposals that are grounded in lived experience, evidence and frontline practice.

If this government’s vision of a National Care Service is to succeed, it cannot be another top-down exercise in Whitehall design. These standards must be co-produced with the people who use and deliver care every day. By bringing together voices from across the sector, we have a real chance to break the cycle of short-term fixes and create a lasting settlement; one that is consistent, equitable and, above all, focused on what really matters to people’s lives.

Kathryn Marsden OBE (formerly Kathryn Smith)

Chief Executive of the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE)

National standards of care represent a pivotal opportunity to transform how social care operates across England. Technology and data are fundamental to making these standards work in practice—from enabling real-time monitoring of care quality to ensuring accountability and transparency across the sector.

The Access Group is proud to partner with SCIE on these roundtables. By bringing together operational insights from the care sector with the latest technological capabilities, we can help shape standards that are both ambitious and achievable.

This isn’t about imposing rigid systems or creating more bureaucracy. It’s about building a framework where technology supports continuous improvement, where data drives better decisions and where every person receiving care benefits from the collective learning of the entire sector. We look forward to contributing our expertise and ensuring the national standards are equipped for the digital future of social care.

Anisa Byrne

Managing Director at Access Care

Sector stakeholders were approached to participate in this roundtable series in August. The series has now hit capacity. If you are interested in joining the waiting list for this series, please contact George Appleton, Head of External Affairs at george.appleton@scie.org.uk

About SCIE

The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) improves the lives of people of all ages by co-producing, sharing, and supporting the use of the best available knowledge and evidence about what works in practice. We are a leading independent social care charity working with organisations that support adults, families and children across the UK.

If you have any questions regarding this submission, please do not hesitate to contact Molly Pennington, Press and Media Relations Officer, at molly.pennington@scie.org.uk

About The Access Group

Access Health, Support and Care, part of The Access Group, is a leading provider of health and care management software, trusted by over 14,000 registered care locations, over 25 NHS Trusts and more than 200 local authorities across the UK. For more information, please visit: https://www.theaccessgroup.com/en-gb/health-social-care/

The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) has today, 3 September 2025, responded to the 2023 LeDeR Annual Report: Learning from Lives and Deaths – People with a Learning Disability and Autistic People, which once again highlights inequalities in health and social care outcomes.


The LeDeR annual report investigates the death of every adult with a learning disability and autism in England. Its purpose is to understand what happened, improve care, reduce inequalities and prevent future premature deaths.

This report is a stark reminder of the profound inequalities in health and social care outcomes facing people with a learning disability and autistic people. It is indefensible that people with a learning disability still die, on average, almost 20 years earlier than the general population and are three times more likely to die from a condition which could have been treated. These are not just numbers; they are lives cut short.

SCIE has analysed the CQC’s reports of local authority performance and found that the Mental Capacity Act isn’t being applied consistently. This leaves people without the protections they are entitled to. The LeDeR report confirms these concerns. The lesson is clear: we must stop treating these failings as inevitable and start treating them as urgent priorities. What’s needed now is action.

We need government, commissioners, providers and frontline professionals to pull together to eradicate these inequalities and close the gap in life expectancy. That means delivering on the basics: ensuring social care packages genuinely meet people’s needs, the Mental Capacity Act is upheld in every case and high-quality care is accessible to everyone who needs it, when they need it.

Kathryn Marsden OBE (formerly Kathryn Smith)

Chief Executive of the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE)

SCIE’s press release on the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) warned that the system is at risk of “unravelling” unless reform is prioritised. The LeDeR report echoes this, noting both improvements in practice and worrying increases in cases where the Act was not followed. Further research and stronger safeguards are urgently required.

To support practitioners, SCIE provides practical tools to help ensure people with learning disabilities and autistic people receive equitable care. Resources such as Get me to hospital guide staff in making reasonable adjustments and improving outcomes in situations where people need and are refusing urgent medical treatment and may need the protection of the MCA.

This and our guidance, Tackling inequalities in care for people with learning disabilities and autistic people, look at the issues, opportunities and concerns raised in this LeDeR report.

About SCIE

The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) improves the lives of people of all ages by co-producing, sharing, and supporting the use of the best available knowledge and evidence about what works in practice. We are a leading independent social care charity working with organisations that support adults, families and children across the UK.

If you have any questions regarding this submission, please do not hesitate to contact Molly Pennington, Press and Media Relations Officer, at molly.pennington@scie.org.uk

Failure to act on long-delayed reforms to the Mental Capacity Act is contributing to preventable deaths, unlawful detentions and growing human rights concerns.

The Mental Capacity Act (MCA) is the legal foundation for decisions made on behalf of people who cannot decide for themselves, because of dementia, learning disability, brain injury or serious illness. It governs some of the most sensitive decisions in life: medical treatment, financial control or the need for care.

Crucially, the MCA also governs when and how someone can be lawfully deprived of their liberty, such as when they are confined to a hospital or care home for their own safety. These safeguards, known as Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS), are embedded in the MCA. If DoLS aren’t working, the MCA isn’t working.

The Government’s attempt to fix this, through the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Act 2019 and the introduction of Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS), has stalled. Implementation was paused in 2020. Five years on, reform is frozen, yet demand is rising and consequences are escalating.

The Social Care Institute for Excellence’s (SCIE) new analysis of Care Quality Commission (CQC) assessments of local authorities, as of August 2025, reveals that:

  • 67% of local authorities inspected were found to require improvements to their DoLS arrangements.
  • The most frequent issue raised in CQC inspections was failure to process deprivation of liberty requests lawfully or on time.
  • Local authorities themselves cited staffing shortages and rising demand as key drivers of the backlog.

This is occurring against a backdrop of soaring requests, with over 332,000 DoLS applications made in 2023/24, a stark contrast to the original Government estimate of just 21,000 per year. In practice, only 19% of these are completed within the 21-day legal requirement, with significant numbers waiting between 12 and 18 months for completion.

This new analysis paints a bleak picture; outdated guidance, overstretched councils and legal uncertainty are resulting in unlawful detentions, avoidable deaths and a system unable to meet demand.

Every day, people are being deprived of their liberty without legal authority, often because the system to protect them is overwhelmed or misunderstood. This creates a profound risk of human rights breaches, particularly for people with learning disabilities, autism, dementia or long-term mental health conditions.

Kathryn Marsden OBE (formerly Kathryn Smith)

Chief Executive of the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE)

Recent legislative progress highlights how urgently MCA reform is needed.

The Mental Health Bill 2025 aims to stop adults with autism or a learning disability from being inappropriately detained under mental health law unless they also have a co-occurring mental illness. But many of these individuals will instead be placed under the DoLS system, a system already at breaking point. Without functioning MCA safeguards, these adults risk being transferred from one form of detention to another, without any legal protection or meaningful right of appeal.

Similarly, the proposed Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill relies on an individual being able to demonstrate clear and settled capacity in deciding to end their life. However, the MCA provides no adequate framework for assessing capacity in such decisions. Without reform, the law may enable choices it is not equipped to regulate safely.

The concern is that while other parts of the legal and policy framework are being modernised, such as the Mental Health Bill and potential assisted dying legislation, they are being built on a foundation that is crumbling.

The Mental Capacity Act is the bedrock of these reforms. If that foundation is not functioning, then nothing built on it will be stable.

Reform cannot wait for the long legislative cycles of Government. While the full implementation of LPS may still be some way off, urgent action is needed to stabilise and improve the current system.

With rising demand, mounting delays and legal ambiguity, continuing inaction will only deepen injustice and increase costs, both human and financial.

Kathryn Marsden OBE (formerly Kathryn Smith)

Chief Executive of the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE)

SCIE is calling for:

  • renewed Government commitment to the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Act, with a roadmap for review and implementation
  • publication of updated Codes of Practice, which have not been revised since 2007, despite major legal developments
  • investment in workforce training, supervision and post-qualification development so professionals can confidently and lawfully apply the MCA
  • revisiting the core principles of the LPS model, enabling a more flexible, portable and person-centred approach to deprivation of liberty
  • strengthening of CQC inspections, so that failures in applying the MCA itself (not just DoLS backlog) are monitored and addressed.

Notes to the editor

332,000 DoLS applications made in 2023/24 is cited in ‘Mental Capacity Act 2005, Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards, 2023-24’, available at NHS England.

The Government’s original estimate of 21,000 DoLS applications made per year is cited in ‘Impact assessment of the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Act 2019’, available at GOV.UK.

19% of DoLS applications being completed within the 21-day legal requirement, with significant numbers waiting between 12 and 18 months for completion, is cited in ‘The state of health adult social care in England 2023/24’, available at CQC.

About SCIE

The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) improves the lives of people of all ages by co-producing, sharing, and supporting the use of the best available knowledge and evidence about what works in practice. We are a leading independent social care charity working with organisations that support adults, families and children across the UK.

If you have any questions regarding this submission, please do not hesitate to contact Molly Pennington, Press and Media Relations Officer, at molly.pennington@scie.org.uk

The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) has today, 29 July 2025, responded to Skills for Care’s annual ‘Size and structure of the adult social care sector and workforce in England’ report.

The report found that the number of filled posts continued to increase in 2024/25 (by 3.4% or 52,000 filled posts) following increases in 2022/23 and 2023/24. This increase contributed to a decrease in the number of staff vacancies from their peak of 10.5% in 2021/22 to 7.0% in 2024/25. However, the vacancy rate remains higher than in most other employment sectors.

The fall in vacancy rate is cause for optimism, but the picture overall is still one of high turnover, persistent recruitment difficulties and a sector held together by the goodwill of overstretched staff.

The system is precariously dependent on overseas workers, who make up a growing proportion of new starters. This overreliance is not a sustainable strategy, and it leaves the entire care system vulnerable to policy changes and political headwinds beyond its control.

SCIE welcomes the sector-wide collaboration led by Skills for Care in shaping the Workforce Strategy for Adult Social Care. It provides a strong, shared foundation to tackle urgent challenges around recruitment, retention and workforce stability. We now call on the government to work with the sector to prioritise and implement key elements of the strategy, particularly around pay, career progression, training and wellbeing. Achieving parity of esteem with the NHS is not only fair but essential, given the critical role the adult social care workforce will play in enabling the success of the 10-Year Health Plan and ensuring people receive care closer to home.

There are reasons to be hopeful. The proposed Fair Pay Agreement has the potential to be a transformative step forward – recognising the skills of care workers, improving their economic security and creating conditions that encourage people to stay and build their careers in care. High turnover affects care quality and continuity, disrupts relationships and ultimately harms those who draw on care and support services.

But a Fair Pay Agreement must be implemented as part of a broader commitment to workforce reform. It cannot be another isolated policy fix. We must ensure the voices of care workers, providers and people who draw on care are central to designing a future-proof system.

Kathryn Marsden OBE (formerly Kathryn Smith)

Chief Executive of the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE)

About SCIE

The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) improves the lives of people of all ages by co-producing, sharing, and supporting the use of the best available knowledge and evidence about what works in practice. We are a leading independent social care charity working with organisations that support adults, families and children across the UK.

If you have any questions regarding this submission, please do not hesitate to contact Molly Pennington, Press and Media Relations Officer, at molly.pennington@scie.org.uk

Yesterday, 15 July 2025, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) published its annual Spring Survey.

The ADASS Spring Survey offers further evidence of a system under profound strain. When local authorities are forced to divert limited resources into crisis management, the opportunity to invest in preventative, early intervention is lost. This not only undermines outcomes for people who draw on care and support but also the Government’s own ambitions for both social care and the NHS.

A sustainable health and care system relies on a rebalanced model—one that moves resources into community settings to enable support to be delivered earlier, closer to home, and in ways that promote independence. The Government’s Ten-Year Plan rightly looks to address this—but largely overlooks the essential role of social care.

Social care plays a vital role in facilitating safe hospital discharge, supporting individuals to maintain their wellbeing at home and enabling them to lead independent and fulfilling lives. Although the sector is in desperate need of reform to unlock its full potential, it has already done the work to identify what the problems are through reports such as this one. It has also been developing solutions that can be deployed now to improve the efficiency, integration and quality of care through projects like the ones funded by the Department of Health and Social Care’s SCIE-supported Accelerating Reform Fund.

It is now up to the Government, working in partnership with social care leaders, to ensure the preventative role of social care is not sidelined but prioritised in our health and care system reforms.”

Kathryn Marsden OBE (formerly Kathryn Smith)

Chief Executive of the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE)

About SCIE

The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) improves the lives of people of all ages by co-producing, sharing, and supporting the use of the best available knowledge and evidence about what works in practice. We are a leading independent social care charity working with organisations that support adults, families and children across the UK.

If you have any questions regarding this submission, please do not hesitate to contact Molly Pennington, Press and Media Relations Officer, at molly.pennington@scie.org.uk