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Thank you for contributing to our ‘State of’ report for 2025

Our CEO Oonagh Smyth gives thanks to the adult social care providers who make the publication of our annual ‘State of the adult social care sector and workforce in England’ report possible.

The publication of our annual is a highlight in the ΢΢²ÝÊÓƵ calendar each year.

The comprehensive report provides rich insights to the Government and other key stakeholders which helps to inform policy and decision making about adult social care. It has been as ‘the most comprehensive publicly available source of workforce statistics for the adult social care sector in England.’

We have a very dedicated team here at ΢΢²ÝÊÓƵ who work hard year-round to create these important insights, but it’s not just our team who make this report possible; it’s you. The more than 21,000 care organisations who share their workforce data with us through the Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set (ASC-WDS).

It’s thanks to you that we’re able to create this significant report, alongside the other workforce insights we share throughout the year, which are used by the Government and other policy makers.

Just last month, our data was cited in the Department of Health and Social Care’s consultation on the Fair Pay Agreement — a vital step toward improving pay and conditions for care workers. Your contributions provide the evidence that helps decision-makers understand why these issues matter.

We’re pleased to see that this year’s ‘State of’ report has highlighted some really positive improvements for the sector – including decreasing vacancy rates, an improvement in retention, and a growth in the number of overall posts in social care.

We’ve also seen an increase in the total amount that the social care sector and workforce contributes to the economy, rising to £77.8billion.

But, of course, we know that challenges do remain for the social care sector, and the report does highlight areas for improvement. This includes a focus on domestic recruitment to build a sustainable workforce for the future, and prioritising learning and development for our workforce ensuring everyone is equipped to meet the growing and changing care needs of the future and to support staff satisfaction and retention.

Alongside the Fair Pay Agreement which I mentioned earlier, there are some other exciting developments happening in social care right now which will help to continue to grow and shape our social care sector to better support people who work in care and people who draw on care and support.

This includes the Workforce Strategy for Adult Social Care which we published last year; the Care Workforce Pathway; steps towards a National Care Service, and the trialling of Neighbourhood Health Services.

As well as being able to help shape these important policies by sharing your data through ASC-WDS, using the free ASC-WDS service also brings many more benefits for employers. This includes the ability to analyse and benchmark your data, a place to store training and qualifications records, and access to funding through the Learning and Development Support Scheme.

If you’re not already signed up to ASC-WDS and sharing your insights to support the creation of our report and other intelligence, you can find out more about all the benefits of ASC-WDS and

And if you’ve not yet I would encourage you to take a look — it’s full of insights that reflect your contributions and the evolving landscape of adult social care.

Once again thank you to all our ASC-WDS users for your contributions to the report and thank you to our entire dedicated workforce for all you have done and continue to do in the ever-changing landscape of social care.

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