UK home care statistics 2026.

• Providers
• Workforce
• Demand and Hours
• CQC Ratings
• Costs and Fees
• Technology and AI
• Method
• How to Cite

Figures with a blue edge are from the 2026 Aim Radar Index, which Aim calculates from the public care registers. Every other figure is quoted from the publication named under it.

How Many Home Care Providers Are There in the UK?

Home care in the UK is regulated by four bodies: the Care Quality Commission in England, the Care Inspectorate in Scotland, Care Inspectorate Wales and the RQIA in Northern Ireland. The 2026 Aim Radar Index counts the services on all four registers.

Number of Home Care Services by UK Nation

• The 2026 Aim Radar Index found 15,937 registered home care services across the UK, on register extracts dated June to October 2026.

  Source: The 2026 Aim Radar Index, calculated from the Care Quality Commission register, 1 October 2026; Care Inspectorate datastore, 31 August 2026; Care Inspectorate Wales directory, 19 October 2026; RQIA register, 8 June 2026.

• England had 13,588 active home care services registered with the Care Quality Commission on 1 October 2026.

  Source: The 2026 Aim Radar Index, calculated from the Care Quality Commission register, 1 October 2026.

• Scotland had 1,292 care at home services registered with the Care Inspectorate on 31 August 2026.

  Source: The 2026 Aim Radar Index, calculated from the Care Inspectorate datastore, 31 August 2026.

• Wales had 718 domiciliary support services with an office in Wales registered with Care Inspectorate Wales on 19 October 2026.

  Source: The 2026 Aim Radar Index, calculated from the Care Inspectorate Wales directory, 19 October 2026.

• Northern Ireland had 339 domiciliary care agencies on the RQIA register on 8 June 2026.

  Source: The 2026 Aim Radar Index, calculated from the RQIA register, 8 June 2026.

• The number of homecare services on the CQC register reached just over 13,500 in April 2026, 42% more than in April 2019, with an extra 700 services registered in the last year.

  Source: Care Quality Commission, “The state of health care and adult social care in England 2025/26”, 23 October 2026.

• England had 15,695 CQC-regulated non-residential care locations in March 2026, up 77% (6,839 locations) since 2018. This wider group covers regulated home care, supported living and extra care housing.

  Source: Skills for Care, “Domiciliary care services in the adult social care sector 2025/26”, October 2026.

Size of Home Care Providers in England

• The 2026 Aim Radar Index found that 10,564 providers ran England’s 13,588 registered home care services on 1 October 2026.

  Source: The 2026 Aim Radar Index, calculated from the Care Quality Commission register, 1 October 2026.

• 89.1% of home care providers in England (9,409 of 10,564) ran a single registered location on 1 October 2026.

  Source: The 2026 Aim Radar Index, calculated from the Care Quality Commission register, 1 October 2026.

• Single-location providers ran 69.2% of England’s registered home care services on 1 October 2026.

  Source: The 2026 Aim Radar Index, calculated from the Care Quality Commission register, 1 October 2026.

• The largest home care provider in England ran 150 registered locations on 1 October 2026.

  Source: The 2026 Aim Radar Index, calculated from the Care Quality Commission register, 1 October 2026.

• Homecare services caring for 4 or fewer people made up 30% of homecare services in England in April 2026, up 2 percentage points in a year.

  Source: Care Quality Commission, “The state of health care and adult social care in England 2025/26”, 23 October 2026.

• 61% of councils and Health and Social Care Trusts purchased no more than 500 hours of homecare per provider each week, the Homecare Association reported in September 2026.

  Source: Homecare Association, “Representation: Autumn Budget 2026”, September 2026.

Where Home Care Services Are Registered

• Essex had the most registered home care services of any local authority area in England on 1 October 2026, with 451, followed by Kent (394), Hampshire (336), Hertfordshire (319) and Birmingham (296).

  Source: The 2026 Aim Radar Index, calculated from the Care Quality Commission register, 1 October 2026.

• The median postcode district in England had 43 registered home care locations within 5 miles in October 2026. In Wales and in Scotland the median was 6.

  Source: The 2026 Aim Radar Index, calculated from the Care Quality Commission register, 1 October 2026; Care Inspectorate Wales directory, 19 October 2026; Care Inspectorate datastore, 31 August 2026.

• 46.2% of postcode districts in England (950 of 2,058) had 50 or more registered home care locations within 5 miles in October 2026.

  Source: The 2026 Aim Radar Index, calculated from the Care Quality Commission register, 1 October 2026.

• 25.8% of postcode districts in Scotland (101 of 392) had no registered home care location within 5 miles in 2026, compared with 13.1% in Wales (23 of 176) and 2.4% in England (50 of 2,058).

  Source: The 2026 Aim Radar Index, calculated from the Care Quality Commission register, 1 October 2026; Care Inspectorate Wales directory, 19 October 2026; Care Inspectorate datastore, 31 August 2026.

• England had 24.9 registered home care services for every 10,000 people aged 75 and over in 2026, or one for every 402 people of that age. Scotland had 24.5 (one for every 409) and Wales had 21.2 (one for every 472).

  Source: The 2026 Aim Radar Index, calculated from the Care Quality Commission register, 1 October 2026; Care Inspectorate datastore, 31 August 2026; Care Inspectorate Wales directory, 19 October 2026; ONS and National Records of Scotland population estimates, mid-2024.

A registered location is the provider’s office address. It shows where a service is based, not every area it delivers care in.

Home Care Workforce Statistics

Skills for Care publishes the workforce figures for England. It reports “domiciliary care services” as a service group, and “CQC non-residential services” (regulated home care, supported living and extra care housing) in its domiciliary care summary. The two are labelled below because their figures differ.

How Many People Work in Home Care?

• Domiciliary care services accounted for 46% of filled posts in adult social care in England in 2025/26, around 725,000 filled posts.

  Source: Skills for Care, “The state of the adult social care sector and workforce in England, 2026”, 14 October 2026.

• CQC non-residential care services in England had 580,000 filled posts and 52,000 vacant posts in 2025/26.

  Source: Skills for Care, “Domiciliary care services in the adult social care sector 2025/26”, October 2026.

• An estimated 505,000 of the filled posts in CQC non-residential care services in England were direct care roles in 2025/26.

  Source: Skills for Care, “Domiciliary care services in the adult social care sector 2025/26”, October 2026.

• Adult social care in England had 1.59 million filled posts in 2025/26, held by an estimated 1.46 million people.

  Source: Skills for Care, “The state of the adult social care sector and workforce in England, 2026”, 14 October 2026.

Home Care Vacancy and Staff Turnover Rates

• Domiciliary care services had a vacancy rate of 8.7% in England in 2025/26, the highest of any adult social care service group. Residential care had the lowest, at 3.8%.

  Source: Skills for Care, “The state of the adult social care sector and workforce in England, 2026”, 14 October 2026.

• The vacancy rate in CQC non-residential care services in England was 9.0% in 2025/26, down from a peak of 12.8% in 2021/22.

  Source: Skills for Care, “Domiciliary care services in the adult social care sector 2025/26”, October 2026.

• Across all adult social care in England, the vacancy rate was 6.2% in 2025/26, with 96,000 vacant posts.

  Source: Skills for Care, “The state of the adult social care sector and workforce in England, 2026”, 14 October 2026.

• Staff turnover in CQC non-residential care services in England was 23.5% in 2025/26, equal to around 124,000 people leaving their role in 12 months.

  Source: Skills for Care, “Domiciliary care services in the adult social care sector 2025/26”, October 2026.

• Care workers in CQC non-residential care services in England had a turnover rate of 28.6% in 2025/26.

  Source: Skills for Care, “Domiciliary care services in the adult social care sector 2025/26”, October 2026.

• 48% of people recruited to CQC non-residential care services in England in 2025/26 came from within adult social care.

  Source: Skills for Care, “Domiciliary care services in the adult social care sector 2025/26”, October 2026.

• Staff turnover across all adult social care in England was 22.1% in 2025/26, around 320,000 leavers.

  Source: Skills for Care, “The state of the adult social care sector and workforce in England, 2026”, 14 October 2026.

Zero-Hours Contracts in Home Care

• Around 34% of the workforce in CQC non-residential care services in England was on a zero-hours contract in 2025/26, rising to 44% of care workers.

  Source: Skills for Care, “Domiciliary care services in the adult social care sector 2025/26”, October 2026.

• Across all adult social care in England, 21% of filled posts (325,000) were on zero-hours contracts in 2025/26.

  Source: Skills for Care, “The state of the adult social care sector and workforce in England, 2026”, 14 October 2026.

Home Care Worker Pay

• Independent sector care workers and support workers in CQC non-residential care services in England were paid a mean of £12.88 an hour in 2025/26, up from £9.79 in 2021/22.

  Source: Skills for Care, “Domiciliary care services in the adult social care sector 2025/26”, October 2026.

• That rise in home care worker pay between 2021/22 and 2025/26 was 32% in cash terms (£3.09) and 9% in real terms (£1.09).

  Source: Skills for Care, “Domiciliary care services in the adult social care sector 2025/26”, October 2026.

• The median hourly rate for independent sector care workers and support workers across adult social care in England was £12.60 in March 2026, 39p above the National Living Wage at the time.

  Source: Skills for Care, “The state of the adult social care sector and workforce in England, 2026”, 14 October 2026.

• The National Living Wage for workers aged 21 and over rose to £12.71 an hour in April 2026, from £12.21.

  Source: GOV.UK, “National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates”, checked 10 November 2026.

• 49% of independent sector adult social care workers in England, around 655,000 filled posts, were paid less than £12.71 an hour in March 2026.

  Source: Skills for Care, “The state of the adult social care sector and workforce in England, 2026”, 14 October 2026.

Who Works in Home Care?

• 77% of the workforce in CQC non-residential care services in England was female in 2025/26. The male share was 23%, up from 18% in 2022/23.

  Source: Skills for Care, “Domiciliary care services in the adult social care sector 2025/26”, October 2026.

• The average age of a worker in CQC non-residential care services in England was 42.8 in 2025/26, and 23% were aged 55 or over.

  Source: Skills for Care, “Domiciliary care services in the adult social care sector 2025/26”, October 2026.

• 60% of the workforce in CQC non-residential care services in England held British nationality in 2025/26, 35% a non-EU nationality and 5% an EU nationality.

  Source: Skills for Care, “Domiciliary care services in the adult social care sector 2025/26”, October 2026.

• Around 44% of the workforce in CQC non-residential care services in England held a relevant social care qualification in 2025/26.

  Source: Skills for Care, “Domiciliary care services in the adult social care sector 2025/26”, October 2026.

International Recruitment and Future Workforce Need

• Around 30,000 people were recruited from abroad into direct care roles in England’s independent adult social care sector in 2025/26, down from 50,000 the year before.

  Source: Skills for Care, “The state of the adult social care sector and workforce in England, 2026”, 14 October 2026.

• Around 150,000 adult social care posts in England were filled by Health and Care Worker visa holders in March 2026.

  Source: Skills for Care, “The state of the adult social care sector and workforce in England, 2026”, 14 October 2026.

• Adult social care in England would need 410,000 more posts by 2040 (a 24% rise, from 1.69 million to 2.09 million) if the workforce grows in line with the number of people aged 65 and over.

  Source: Skills for Care, “The state of the adult social care sector and workforce in England, 2026”, 14 October 2026.

Home Care Demand and Hours Statistics

How Many People Receive Home Care?

• 490,000 people in England were receiving long-term council-arranged care in the community, which covers home care and direct payments, on 31 March 2026, up from 470,000 on 30 April 2025.

  Source: Department of Health and Social Care, “Adult social care client level data, England: quarterly update to March 2026”, 30 October 2026 (official statistics in development).

• 685,000 people in England were receiving long-term adult social care arranged or provided by a local authority on 31 March 2026, of whom 402,000 were aged 65 or over.

  Source: Department of Health and Social Care, “Adult social care client level data, England: quarterly update to March 2026”, 30 October 2026 (official statistics in development).

• Councils in England reported that 299,192 people aged 65 and over and 85,778 people aged 18 to 64 accessed homecare in the 12 months to 31 March 2026.

  Source: ADASS, “Spring Survey 2026”, July 2026 (136 council returns, scaled to England).

• Public bodies fund around 80% of homecare, the Homecare Association reported in September 2026.

  Source: Homecare Association, “Representation: Autumn Budget 2026”, September 2026.

• Homecare providers in the CQC’s Market Oversight scheme delivered 5.8% more hours of homecare in March 2026 than in March 2024.

  Source: Care Quality Commission, “The state of health care and adult social care in England 2025/26”, 23 October 2026.

Home Care Hours per Week

• People aged 65 and over who accessed council-arranged homecare in England received an average of 14 hours a week in the 12 months to 31 March 2026. People aged 18 to 64 received an average of 19 hours.

  Source: ADASS, “Spring Survey 2026”, July 2026 (136 council returns, scaled to England).

• 20.3% of people aged 65 and over who accessed homecare in England (60,813 people) received double-handed care in the 12 months to 31 March 2026, as did 16.1% of people aged 18 to 64 (13,813 people).

  Source: ADASS, “Spring Survey 2026”, July 2026 (136 council returns, scaled to England).

Waiting Lists and Provider Closures

• 408,985 people in England were waiting for a care assessment, for care or a direct payment to begin, or for a review on 31 March 2026.

  Source: ADASS, “Spring Survey 2026”, July 2026 (136 council returns, scaled to England).

• 17,731 people in England had been assessed and were waiting for a service or support to start in March 2026, up from 13,538 in March 2025.

  Source: ADASS, “Spring Survey 2026”, July 2026 (136 council returns, scaled to England).

• 66% of directors of adult social services in England said providers in their area had closed, ceased trading or handed back contracts in the previous six months in spring 2026, up from 56% in spring 2025. A total of 3,964 people were affected.

  Source: ADASS, “Spring Survey 2026”, July 2026 (136 council returns, scaled to England).

The Ageing Population

• The UK population was 69.3 million in mid-2024, up 755,300 (1.1%) in a year.

  Source: Office for National Statistics, “Population estimates for the UK, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland: mid-2024”, 26 September 2025.

• The number of people aged 65 and over rose by 2.0% in Scotland and in Northern Ireland, 1.8% in England and 1.5% in Wales in the year to mid-2024.

  Source: Office for National Statistics, “Population estimates for the UK, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland: mid-2024”, 26 September 2025.

• England had 5.46 million people aged 75 and over in mid-2024, up 6.1% in two years. Scotland had 528,015 (up 6.1%) and Wales had 338,943 (up 6.1%).

  Source: The 2026 Aim Radar Index, calculated from the ONS and National Records of Scotland population estimates, mid-2024.

• England had 1.48 million people aged 85 and over in mid-2024, up 4.2% in two years. Scotland had 135,642 (up 3.2%) and Wales had 87,318 (up 2.8%).

  Source: The 2026 Aim Radar Index, calculated from the ONS and National Records of Scotland population estimates, mid-2024.

• The number of people aged 65 and over in England is projected to grow by 24% between 2026 and 2040, from 11.4 million to 14.1 million.

  Source: Skills for Care, “The state of the adult social care sector and workforce in England, 2026”, 14 October 2026.

• The number of people aged 90 and over in England is projected to grow by 79% between 2026 and 2040, from 550,000 to 990,000.

  Source: Skills for Care, “The state of the adult social care sector and workforce in England, 2026”, 14 October 2026.

Attendance Allowance, Living Alone and Unpaid Care

• Around 1.57 million people in England were receiving Attendance Allowance in March 2026, about 143 for every 1,000 people aged 65 and over. In Wales the figure was around 123,000, about 178 per 1,000.

  Source: The 2026 Aim Radar Index, calculated from the DWP Stat-Xplore, March 2026; ONS and National Records of Scotland population estimates, mid-2024.

• 12.8% of households in England (3.0 million) were one person aged 66 or over living alone at the last census. The share was 14.6% in Wales and 14.3% in Scotland.

  Source: The 2026 Aim Radar Index, calculated from the Census 2021 (England and Wales) and Scotland’s Census 2022.

• 2.38 million people in England provided 20 or more hours of unpaid care a week at Census 2021, 4.45% of residents aged 5 and over. In Wales it was 171,835 people, or 5.85%.

  Source: The 2026 Aim Radar Index, calculated from the Census 2021 (England and Wales) and Scotland’s Census 2022.

CQC Home Care Ratings and Inspection Statistics

The Index figures below use ratings as published on the CQC register on 1 October 2026. Many of those ratings were awarded several years ago, so they are shown next to how old they are.

What Percentage of Home Care Services Are Rated Good or Outstanding?

• The 2026 Aim Radar Index found that 87.4% of rated home care services in England (7,863 of 8,997) were rated Good or Outstanding on 1 October 2026.

  Source: The 2026 Aim Radar Index, calculated from the Care Quality Commission register, 1 October 2026.

• Of England’s 8,997 rated home care services on 1 October 2026, 4.9% were Outstanding (438), 82.5% Good (7,425), 12.1% Requires improvement (1,086) and 0.5% Inadequate (48).

  Source: The 2026 Aim Radar Index, calculated from the Care Quality Commission register, 1 October 2026.

• Of the 2,121 homecare services the CQC assessed under its current framework between January 2024 and August 2026, 80% were rated good (76%) or outstanding (4%), 18% requires improvement and 2% inadequate. The CQC chooses which services to assess based on risk, so this group may not represent the whole sector.

  Source: Care Quality Commission, “The state of health care and adult social care in England 2025/26”, 23 October 2026.

How Many Home Care Services Have No CQC Rating?

• The 2026 Aim Radar Index found that 33.8% of registered home care services in England (4,591 of 13,588) had no published CQC rating on 1 October 2026.

  Source: The 2026 Aim Radar Index, calculated from the Care Quality Commission register, 1 October 2026.

• 4,026 home care services in England had been registered for more than a year without a published CQC rating on 1 October 2026. Of those, 2,906 had been registered for more than two years and 1,717 for more than three.

  Source: The 2026 Aim Radar Index, calculated from the Care Quality Commission register, 1 October 2026.

• The median unrated home care service in England had been registered for 2.5 years on 1 October 2026.

  Source: The 2026 Aim Radar Index, calculated from the Care Quality Commission register, 1 October 2026.

• 83.5% of community social care services in England had no current CQC rating on 5 May 2026: 36.9% had never been assessed and 46.6% held a rating that was four to ten years old.

  Source: Homecare Association, “Unseen and unrated”, 10 June 2026 (CQC data as at 5 May 2026).

• The share of community social care services in England with no current CQC rating rose from 60% in 2024 to 70% in 2025 and 83.5% in 2026.

  Source: Homecare Association, “Unseen and unrated”, 10 June 2026 (CQC data as at 5 May 2026).

How Old Are CQC Home Care Ratings?

• The median published CQC rating for a home care service in England was 4.2 years old on 1 October 2026.

  Source: The 2026 Aim Radar Index, calculated from the Care Quality Commission register, 1 October 2026.

• 70.9% of published CQC ratings for home care services in England (6,377) were more than three years old on 1 October 2026. 54.1% were more than four years old and 40.6% more than five.

  Source: The 2026 Aim Radar Index, calculated from the Care Quality Commission register, 1 October 2026.

• The oldest published CQC rating for a home care service in England was 9.7 years old on 1 October 2026.

  Source: The 2026 Aim Radar Index, calculated from the Care Quality Commission register, 1 October 2026.

• The CQC published 934 ratings for community social care services in England in the year to 5 May 2026, compared with 2,076 for residential services.

  Source: Homecare Association, “Unseen and unrated”, 10 June 2026 (CQC data as at 5 May 2026).

• The CQC published about 78 community social care ratings a month in the year to 5 May 2026. Around 406 a month would be needed to rate every service once every three years.

  Source: Homecare Association, “Unseen and unrated”, 10 June 2026 (CQC data as at 5 May 2026).

New Home Care Registrations

• 24.8% of England’s registered home care services (3,367) had been registered for three years or less on 1 October 2026, and 43.9% for five years or less.

  Source: The 2026 Aim Radar Index, calculated from the Care Quality Commission register, 1 October 2026.

• 653 home care services in England (4.8%) had been registered within the previous 12 months on 1 October 2026.

  Source: The 2026 Aim Radar Index, calculated from the Care Quality Commission register, 1 October 2026.

• The median home care service in England had been registered for 5.9 years on 1 October 2026.

  Source: The 2026 Aim Radar Index, calculated from the Care Quality Commission register, 1 October 2026.

• Of the home care services active in England on 1 October 2026, 1,494 were registered in 2023, 1,338 in 2024 and 1,176 in 2025.

  Source: The 2026 Aim Radar Index, calculated from the Care Quality Commission register, 1 October 2026.

• Of 3,053 new homecare registration applications to the CQC in the six months to April 2026, 67% were rejected at the initial completeness check and 83% of those that reached assessment were refused. Around 174 were granted.

  Source: Homecare Association, “Unseen and unrated”, 10 June 2026 (CQC data as at 5 May 2026).

Who Home Care Services Are Registered to Support

• 91.6% of registered home care services in England (12,453) listed older people among the groups they support on 1 October 2026.

  Source: The 2026 Aim Radar Index, calculated from the Care Quality Commission register, 1 October 2026.

• 79% of registered home care services in England (10,739) listed people living with dementia among the groups they support on 1 October 2026.

  Source: The 2026 Aim Radar Index, calculated from the Care Quality Commission register, 1 October 2026.

Home Care Ratings in Wales and Scotland

• 94.6% of home care services in Wales with a published Care and Support rating (422 of 446) were rated Good or Excellent on 19 October 2026. 272 of the 718 services (37.9%) had no published rating.

  Source: The 2026 Aim Radar Index, calculated from the Care Inspectorate Wales directory, 19 October 2026.

• 84.7% of graded care at home services in Scotland (910 of 1,075) had no key-question grade below Good on 31 August 2026. 15.3% (165) had at least one grade of Adequate or lower.

  Source: The 2026 Aim Radar Index, calculated from the Care Inspectorate datastore, 31 August 2026.

The three regulators use different scales, so ratings in England, Wales and Scotland are not directly comparable. The Index does not include ratings for Northern Ireland, where it uses the RQIA register for the count of agencies only.

Home Care Costs and Fee Rate Statistics

How Much Do Councils and the NHS Pay per Hour for Home Care?

• Councils in England paid an average of £24.72 an hour for home care from external providers in 2025-26, up 5% (£1.16) from £23.56 the year before.

  Source: Department of Health and Social Care, “Adult social care finance report, England: 2025 to 2026”, 22 October 2026.

• Councils in England reported an average home care rate of £25.05 an hour for 2026/27, up 5% from £23.85.

  Source: ADASS, “Spring Survey 2026”, July 2026 (136 council returns, scaled to England).

• NHS-funded homecare in England averaged £23.84 an hour in 2025-26, below the average council rate.

  Source: Homecare Association, response to the ADASS Spring Survey 2026, 15 July 2026.

• Home care delivered by councils’ own in-house services in England cost an average of £43.77 an hour in 2025-26, up 12% (£4.86).

  Source: Department of Health and Social Care, “Adult social care finance report, England: 2025 to 2026”, 22 October 2026.

• 29% of councils and Health and Social Care Trusts paid average homecare rates below the direct cost of employing a careworker at the National Living Wage in 2025-26.

  Source: Homecare Association, “Representation: Autumn Budget 2026”, September 2026.

The Cost of Delivering an Hour of Home Care

• The Homecare Association’s Minimum Price for Homecare in England is £34.42 an hour for 2026-27.

  Source: Homecare Association, “Minimum Price for Homecare 2026-27”, 22 December 2025.

• The direct cost of employing a careworker at the National Living Wage averages £26.17 for each hour of homecare in 2026-27, before any office, training or management costs.

  Source: Homecare Association, “Representation: Autumn Budget 2026”, September 2026.

• The average council rate for 2026/27 (£25.05) is £9.37 an hour, or 27%, below the Homecare Association’s Minimum Price for Homecare (£34.42).

  Source: Aim calculation from ADASS, “Spring Survey 2026”, July 2026, and Homecare Association, “Minimum Price for Homecare 2026-27”, 22 December 2025.

Council Spending on Adult Social Care

• Councils in England spent £31.6 billion (gross current expenditure) on adult social care in 2025-26, £2.3 billion (8%) more in cash terms than the year before.

  Source: Department of Health and Social Care, “Adult social care finance report, England: 2025 to 2026”, 22 October 2026.

• Home care made up 65% of councils’ community care spending for people aged 65 and over in England in 2025-26. Direct payments made up 16% and supported living 13%.

  Source: Department of Health and Social Care, “Adult social care finance report, England: 2025 to 2026”, 22 October 2026.

• An average week of residential or nursing care cost councils in England £1,251.09 in 2025-26, up 6% (£65.53).

  Source: Department of Health and Social Care, “Adult social care finance report, England: 2025 to 2026”, 22 October 2026.

• Councils in England overspent their adult social care budgets by £715 million in 2025/26, compared with £764 million the year before.

  Source: ADASS, “Spring Survey 2026”, July 2026 (136 council returns, scaled to England).

Home Care Technology and AI Adoption Statistics

The Department of Health and Social Care surveyed 1,085 adult social care providers in England in February and March 2025. 57% of them provided domiciliary care, so the figures below cover care providers as a whole, not home care alone.

Digital Social Care Records and Care Software

• 73% of adult social care providers surveyed in England used a digital social care record in February and March 2025. The share ranged from 57% of micro providers to 88% of large providers.

  Source: Department of Health and Social Care, “Findings from the 2025 adult social care provider technology survey”, 6 March 2026 (1,085 providers, 57% of them domiciliary care).

• The share of CQC-registered providers in England using a digital social care record rose from 41% in December 2021 to 80% in July 2025.

  Source: Department of Health and Social Care, “Findings from the 2025 adult social care provider technology survey”, 6 March 2026 (1,085 providers, 57% of them domiciliary care).

• 63% of adult social care providers surveyed in England used digital rostering in early 2025, 53% used electronic medication administration records (eMAR) and 51% used HR management software.

  Source: Department of Health and Social Care, “Findings from the 2025 adult social care provider technology survey”, 6 March 2026 (1,085 providers, 57% of them domiciliary care).

• 27% of adult social care providers surveyed in England reported not using any care technologies to deliver care and support in early 2025, rising to 40% of micro providers.

  Source: Department of Health and Social Care, “Findings from the 2025 adult social care provider technology survey”, 6 March 2026 (1,085 providers, 57% of them domiciliary care).

Barriers to Adopting Care Technology

• 73% of adult social care providers surveyed in England named the set-up cost of technology as a barrier to adopting it over the next five years, and 70% named the ongoing licence cost.

  Source: Department of Health and Social Care, “Findings from the 2025 adult social care provider technology survey”, 6 March 2026 (1,085 providers, 57% of them domiciliary care).

• 52% of adult social care providers surveyed in England named staff training costs and high staff turnover as a barrier to adopting care technology, 41% the cost of cyber and data security and 40% the availability of good internet connectivity.

  Source: Department of Health and Social Care, “Findings from the 2025 adult social care provider technology survey”, 6 March 2026 (1,085 providers, 57% of them domiciliary care).

How Many Home Care Providers Use AI?

There is no official statistic for how many UK home care providers use AI. We have left the number out instead of quoting a supplier survey, and will add one when an official source publishes it.

• The UK government’s 2026 survey of AI adoption by businesses excluded human health and social work activities, so it gives no figure for home care providers.

  Source: Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, “Artificial intelligence adoption research 2026”, October 2026.

How the 2026 Index Is Calculated

The 2026 Aim Radar Index counts every home care service on the public registers of the four UK care regulators and sets those counts against official population data. It is the same public dataset that powers Aim Radar. No Aim customer data is used.

Sources and Dates

• England: Care Quality Commission, active locations and latest ratings, 1 October 2026.
• Scotland: Care Inspectorate datastore, care at home services, 31 August 2026.
• Wales: Care Inspectorate Wales directory of services, 19 October 2026.
• Northern Ireland: RQIA register of domiciliary care agencies, 8 June 2026.
• Population: ONS small area population estimates for England and Wales and National Records of Scotland small area population estimates, mid-2024, with mid-2022 used to measure change.
• Households and unpaid care: Census 2021 for England and Wales and Scotland’s Census 2022.
• Attendance Allowance: DWP Stat-Xplore, England and Wales, March 2026.

Definitions

• Home care service (England): an active, non-dormant CQC location with the service type “Domiciliary care service”.
• Rating (England): the overall rating for the homecare service where the CQC publishes one, otherwise the location’s overall rating. A rating’s age is counted from the date it was published to 1 October 2026.
• Rating (Wales): the Care Inspectorate Wales “Care and Support” rating, for services with an office in Wales.
• Grade (Scotland): the lowest of the service’s current Care Inspectorate key-question grades.
• Within 5 miles: registered home care locations within 5 miles of the centre of a postcode district.

Limits

• A registered location is an office address. It is not a measure of where care is delivered.
• Ratings are shown as published by each regulator. The Index does not judge quality itself.
• Northern Ireland is included as a count of registered agencies only.
• The registers were taken on different dates between June and October 2026, so the UK total is not a single-day count.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. This service uses Care Quality Commission information, available under the Open Government Licence v3.0. The Index figures are also available as a data file (JSON).

How to Cite These Statistics

You are welcome to quote any figure on this page.

• For a figure marked “The 2026 Aim Radar Index”, cite: The 2026 Aim Radar Index, Aim, weaim.io/home-care-statistics.
• For every other figure, cite the original source named under it. Each one links to the publication.
• This page is updated every year at the same address. It was last updated on 10 November 2026.