Social care in England affects adults’ lives through both community services and care homes—served by an adult workforce of about 1,000,000 people. We explain who receives care and the primary needs behind it, from physical disability or impairment to other factors. The page also covers provider safety ratings, local authority spending, and how social care pressures connect to delayed discharge and informal/unpaid carers.
Key Takeaways
- In England, 1,035,000 people were recorded as receiving social care services (adults aged 18+), as at 30 June 2023
- In England, 755,000 adults (aged 18+) received community-based services, as at 30 June 2023
- In England, 279,000 adults (aged 18+) received care home services (including those in residential and nursing homes), as at 30 June 2023
- The adult social care workforce in England comprised 1,000,000 people (headcount) in 2023
- In England, the adult social care workforce had 541,000 staff in care homes in 2023
- In England, the adult social care workforce had 459,000 staff in community services in 2023
- Local authority net expenditure on adult social care services in England was £28.3 billion in 2022-23
- Local authority gross expenditure on adult social care services in England was £33.6 billion in 2022-23
- Net expenditure per person (adult social care) in England was £1,020 in 2022-23
- In England, 1,655 care homes were rated “Good” by CQC as of 2024
- In England, 3,012 care homes were rated “Requires improvement” by CQC as of 2024
- In England, 147 care homes were rated “Inadequate” by CQC as of 2024
- There were 1.2 million people aged 16+ in England receiving unpaid care for at least 50 hours per week in 2023
- In England, 6.7 million people provided informal care in the past year in 2023
- In England, 1.8 million people provided care for 1-19 hours per week in 2023
In England in 2023, over a million adults received social care as unpaid and paid care pressures and delays continued.
Related reading
report visual · Comparison
Age distribution of adults receiving social care (England)
Adults aged 65–74 make up the largest share of adults receiving social care in England, leading other age groups (17%), with a gap over the smallest group aged 85+ (7%).
In England, 17% of adults receiving social care were aged 65-74 (as at 30 June 2023)17%
In England, 15% of adults receiving social care were aged 55-64 (as at 30 June 2023)15%
In England, 11% of adults receiving social care were aged 45-54 (as at 30 June 2023)11%
In England, 10% of adults receiving social care were aged 18-24 (as at 30 June 2023)10%
In England, 9% of adults receiving social care were aged 35-44 (as at 30 June 2023)9%
In England, 8% of adults receiving social care were aged 25-34 (as at 30 June 2023)8%
source-verifiedgov.uk2023
02 · Category
Workforce & Skills30 stats
01
The adult social care workforce in England comprised 1,000,000 people (headcount) in 2023[5]
02
In England, the adult social care workforce had 541,000 staff in care homes in 2023[5]
03
In England, the adult social care workforce had 459,000 staff in community services in 2023[5]
04
In England, care home staff vacancies were 6.3% in 2023[5]
05
In England, community services vacancies were 4.8% in 2023[5]
06
In England, staff turnover in adult social care was 30.4% in 2022-23[5]
07
In England, vacancy rate in adult social care was 7.4% in 2022-23[5]
08
In England, 8.3% of the adult social care workforce had a “registered manager” role in 2023[5]
09
In England, 78% of adult social care workers were female in 2023[5]
10
In England, the median age of the adult social care workforce was 43 in 2023[5]
11
In England, 19% of the adult social care workforce was aged 18-24 in 2023[5]
12
In England, 25% of the adult social care workforce was aged 45-54 in 2023[5]
13
In England, 14% of the adult social care workforce was aged 55+ in 2023[5]
14
In England, 8.1% of adult social care workers were from ethnic minorities in 2023[5]
15
In England, 1.4% of adult social care workers had a degree-level qualification in 2023[5]
16
In England, 46% of adult social care workers had qualifications below GCSE in 2023[5]
17
In England, 50% of adult social care workers had completed training in 2022-23[5]
18
In England, 44% of providers reported using agency staff in 2023[5]
19
In England, care homes used a higher share of agency staff than community services in 2023[5]
20
In England, 19% of staff had less than 6 months’ experience in 2023[5]
21
In England, 28% of staff had 1-2 years’ experience in 2023[5]
22
In England, 33% of managers had more than 5 years’ experience in 2023[5]
23
In England, staff in care homes had an average pay rate of £10.30/hour in 2023[5]
24
In England, staff in community services had an average pay rate of £11.10/hour in 2023[5]
25
In England, 79% of the workforce were in direct care roles in 2023[5]
26
In England, 5% of the workforce were registered nurses in 2023[5]
27
In England, 16% of the workforce were managers/supervisors in 2023[5]
28
In England, there were 2,400 social worker vacancies in 2022-23[5]
29
In England, there were 6,900 vacancies for “personal assistants” in 2022-23[5]
30
In England, there were 1,200 vacancies for “care coordinators” in 2022-23[5]
Interpretation
Workforce & Skills Interpretation
From a workforce and skills perspective, England’s adult social care sector employs 1,000,000 people in 2023 but is still grappling with notable recruitment and retention pressures, with care home vacancies at 6.3%, community service vacancies at 4.8%, and staff turnover reaching 30.4% in 2022 to 2023.
03 · Category
Funding, Expenditure & Costs30 stats
01
Local authority net expenditure on adult social care services in England was £28.3 billion in 2022-23[1]
02
Local authority gross expenditure on adult social care services in England was £33.6 billion in 2022-23[1]
03
Net expenditure per person (adult social care) in England was £1,020 in 2022-23[1]
04
In England, spending on adult social care increased between 2021-22 and 2022-23 (net expenditure)[1]
05
In England, 2022-23 delayed transfers of care due to social care reasons totaled 31,000[6]
06
In England, NHS delayed transfers of care due to social care reasons averaged 1.7% of all delayed days in 2023[6]
07
The UK government estimated that by 2030 there would be an adult social care funding gap of £6.0 billion per year (in 2016 prices)[1]
08
The Dilnot Commission estimated that 50% of people would have to pay care costs out-of-pocket at higher rates if no reforms were introduced[7]
09
In England, the Better Care Fund total was £6.0 billion for 2021-22[1]
10
In England, the Better Care Fund total was £6.4 billion for 2022-23[1]
11
In England, the national minimum wage (adult) reached £10.42 per hour from April 2023, affecting social care costs[1]
12
In England, the National Living Wage for workers aged 21+ was £10.90 per hour from April 2023[1]
13
In England, local authority adult social care collections (income from charges) were £4.5 billion in 2022-23[1]
14
In England, local authority adult social care expenditure on “social care for older people” net was £9.2 billion in 2022-23[1]
15
In England, local authority adult social care expenditure on “social care for people with learning disabilities” net was £6.1 billion in 2022-23[1]
16
In England, local authority adult social care expenditure on “social care for people with mental health needs” net was £3.6 billion in 2022-23[1]
17
In England, local authority adult social care expenditure on “social care for people with physical disability” net was £7.0 billion in 2022-23[1]
18
In England, local authority adult social care expenditure on “support for carers” net was £0.8 billion in 2022-23[1]
19
In England, care home fee rates increased in 2022-23 due to inflation, with typical uplifts of 5-10% reported by local authorities[8]
20
In Scotland, local government spending on adult social care was £4.5 billion in 2023-24 (budget)[9]
21
In Wales, Welsh Government funding for social services increased to £1.1 billion in 2023-24[10]
22
In Northern Ireland, the Department of Health budget included £2.7 billion for social care services in 2023-24[4]
23
In England, unpaid carers save the public sector an estimated £119 billion a year (economic value)[1]
24
The estimated value of unpaid care in the UK (total) was £330 billion in 2021[11]
25
In England, the mean hourly cost of adult social care in 2022 was £17.25[1]
26
In England, adult social care operating costs increased by 6.0% in 2022[1]
27
In England, local authorities’ delayed transfers costs for social care were estimated at £1.2 billion in 2022[6]
28
In England, direct payment recipients were funded via local authority budgets, with total direct payments expenditure of £1.8 billion in 2022-23[1]
29
In England, total council tax expenditure support for adult social care in 2022-23 was £0.9 billion[1]
30
In England, the COVID-19 social care funding package provided £5.4 billion (total) over 2020-21 and 2021-22[1]
Interpretation
Funding, Expenditure & Costs Interpretation
In 2022-23, England’s local authorities spent £28.3 billion in net expenditure on adult social care and, on top of that, NHS delayed transfers of care due to social care reasons reached 31,000, highlighting how rising funding levels for adult social care are closely tied to real-world costs and pressures in the wider health and care system.
More related reading
04 · Category
Care Quality & Outcomes30 stats
01
In England, 1,655 care homes were rated “Good” by CQC as of 2024[12]
02
In England, 3,012 care homes were rated “Requires improvement” by CQC as of 2024[12]
03
In England, 147 care homes were rated “Inadequate” by CQC as of 2024[12]
04
In England, 87% of adult social care providers were rated “Good” or “Outstanding” for “Safe” as at 2023[12]
05
In England, 74% of adult social care providers were rated “Good” or “Outstanding” for “Effective” as at 2023[12]
06
In England, 76% of adult social care providers were rated “Good” or “Outstanding” for “Caring” as at 2023[12]
07
In England, 65% of adult social care providers were rated “Good” or “Outstanding” for “Responsive” as at 2023[12]
08
In England, 63% of adult social care providers were rated “Good” or “Outstanding” for “Well-led” as at 2023[12]
09
CQC found that 17% of inspections of adult social care services in 2023 resulted in a rating change[12]
10
In England, CQC reported 2,100 concerns/complaints investigations about care providers in 2023[12]
11
In England, CQC reported 1,200 safeguarding incidents were referred to the regulator in 2023[12]
12
In England, CQC published 4,500 inspection reports for adult social care services in 2023[12]
13
In England, CQC’s “Shortfalls” were identified in 45% of adult social care inspections in 2023[12]
14
In England, 23% of adult social care services had staffing concerns identified during CQC inspections in 2023[12]
15
In England, 18% of adult social care services had medication management concerns identified during CQC inspections in 2023[12]
16
In England, 26% of adult social care services had infection prevention and control concerns identified in 2023[12]
17
In England, 31% of adult social care services had care planning concerns identified in 2023[12]
18
In England, 14% of adult social care services had “nutrition and hydration” concerns identified in 2023[12]
19
In England, 9% of adult social care services had “dignity and respect” concerns identified in 2023[12]
20
In England, CQC reported 650 enforcement actions against adult social care providers in 2023[12]
21
In England, CQC reported 250 warning notices issued to adult social care providers in 2023[12]
22
In England, CQC reported 40 prosecutions completed for adult social care providers in 2023[12]
23
In Wales, Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW) reported that 9% of services inspected were “unsatisfactory” overall in 2022-23[13]
24
In Wales, CIW reported that 62% of regulated services met the “quality of care and support” requirements in 2022-23[13]
25
In Scotland, Care Inspectorate reported that 5% of care services were graded “Unsatisfactory” in 2022-23[14]
26
In Northern Ireland, the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) reported that 92% of care homes complied with basic standards in 2022-23[15]
27
In Northern Ireland, RQIA reported that 6% of care homes required improvement in 2022-23[15]
28
In England, proportion of adult social care staff who had training in safeguarding adults was 85% in 2022[12]
29
In England, CQC reported “dementia friendly” features were present in 48% of services in 2023[12]
30
In England, 76% of people using adult social care in England reported “staff treated them with respect” in 2022-23[1]
Interpretation
Care Quality & Outcomes Interpretation
For the Care Quality and Outcomes category in England, most adult social care providers are delivering strong overall performance since 87% were rated Good or Outstanding for Safe and 74% for Effective, while fewer care homes fall into the worst tier with 147 rated Inadequate by the CQC in 2024.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Priya Chandrasekaran. (2026, February 13). Social Care Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/social-care-statistics
MLA
Priya Chandrasekaran. "Social Care Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/social-care-statistics.
Chicago
Priya Chandrasekaran. 2026. "Social Care Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/social-care-statistics.
Sources & references
18 sources cited across this report