Adult Social Care Briefing
- Cheryl Baird
- Jul 9
- 3 min read
Published: 9 July 2026
A weekly briefing highlighting the key developments affecting adult social care providers
The Adult Social Care Briefing is published every Thursday and highlights significant developments affecting adult social care providers. Each edition explains what has changed, why it matters and the practical actions providers may wish to consider.
The aim is to provide a concise, practical update that supports governance, leadership and operational decision-making.
This Week's Headline
This week's published developments highlight continuing themes around workforce wellbeing, restrictive practice and organisational oversight.
Although these updates originate from different national organisations, together they provide useful insight into current issues affecting adult social care and the importance of effective governance, leadership and person-centred care.
This briefing summarises the week's developments together with professional commentary on their potential implications for adult social care providers.
Workforce Wellbeing and Leadership
What has changed?
The Department of Health and Social Care has published the findings from the second Adult Social Care Workforce Survey, undertaken in England between August and October 2025. Care England has also published a summary of the findings for providers. The survey highlights issues relating to workforce wellbeing, experiences of violence and abuse, staff retention and delegated clinical activities undertaken by care staff.
Why it matters
The findings reinforce the importance of supporting and retaining the adult social care workforce. Providers may wish to consider workforce wellbeing alongside quality and safety information when reviewing organisational performance and identifying opportunities for improvement.
Actions for providers
Review workforce wellbeing alongside quality and safety indicators.
Monitor trends in turnover, sickness absence and agency use.
Ensure delegated clinical activities are supported by appropriate competency assessment, supervision and governance arrangements.
Safeguarding and Restrictive Practice
What has changed?
The Care Quality Commission has published its Independent Care (Education) and Treatment Reviews (IC(E)TRs) Annual Report 2024–2025, highlighting the contribution of independent reviews in supporting people with learning disabilities and autistic people to move away from long-term segregation where appropriate.
Why it matters
The report highlights the importance of person-centred care, regular review, advocacy and ensuring restrictive practices remain lawful, proportionate and subject to ongoing review.
Providers may also wish to consider how safeguarding, Mental Capacity Act practice and restrictive interventions are reviewed through existing governance arrangements.
Actions for providers
Review restrictive practice arrangements.
Ensure best-interest decisions remain current and appropriately documented.
Check advocacy arrangements are effective and people's views are reflected in decision-making.
Governance and Assurance
What has changed?
Taken together, this week's publications demonstrate the value of reviewing information from different sources when assessing service quality and organisational performance.
Why it matters
No single dataset provides a complete picture of quality. Complaints, incidents, safeguarding concerns, workforce information, audit findings and feedback from people using services can all contribute to organisational assurance.
Considering these sources together may help providers identify emerging risks, monitor improvement activity and strengthen governance arrangements.
Actions for providers
Review complaints, incidents, safeguarding concerns and workforce information for emerging themes.
Ensure governance reports identify trends as well as individual events.
Check that improvement plans include evidence of measurable outcomes and ongoing review.
Governance Question of the Week
Can your organisation demonstrate how information from incidents, safeguarding, workforce data, audits and feedback is used to identify emerging risks and support continuous improvement?
Five Actions for Providers This Week
Review workforce wellbeing alongside governance and quality information.
Check oversight of delegated clinical activities and competency assessments.
Review restrictive practice, Mental Capacity Act and advocacy arrangements.
Consider whether governance reports effectively triangulate information from multiple sources.
Discuss this week's developments at your next governance or quality meeting and record any agreed actions.
Sources
This briefing is based on information published by:
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) – Work-related Quality of Life of the Adult Social Care Workforce in England in 2025 (published 2 July 2026).
Care England – What the New Adult Social Care Workforce Survey Means for You (published 3 July 2026).
Care Quality Commission (CQC) – Independent Care (Education) and Treatment Reviews (IC(E)TRs) Annual Report 2024–2025.
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) – Announcement of new NHS staff standards to tackle racism, violence and sexual harassment (published 6 July 2026). While this announcement applies to NHS organisations, it reflects the wider focus on workforce culture, staff safety and organisational leadership across health and care.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) – Adult Social Care Guidance and Quality Standards.
This briefing summarises publicly available information together with professional commentary on the potential implications for adult social care providers. Readers should refer to the original publications for the full detail and any subsequent updates.
Looking Ahead
Next week's briefing will review the most significant developments affecting adult social care providers and consider the practical implications for governance, regulation, workforce, safeguarding and quality.
If there is a regulatory update, guidance document or sector issue you would like featured in a future edition of the Adult Social Care Briefing, I'd be pleased to hear from you.
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