Metrics for local authority assessment framework

Page last updated: 3 December 2025

Theme 1 metrics: Supporting people to live healthier lives

Evidence category: People's experience

Personal Social Services Adult Social Care Survey (ASCS)

View the personal social services adult social care survey

% of people who use services who feel clean and presentable

Full indicator description: The percentage of respondents to the Adult Social Care Survey who felt clean and presentable
Question from data source: Question 4a – "Thinking about keeping clean and presentable in appearance, which of the following statements best describes your situation?"
Numerator: Total responses who answered “I feel clean and am able to present myself the way I like” or “I feel adequately clean and presentable” to Question 4a
Denominator: Total responses to Question 4a
Observed: Numerator/denominator
Indicator type: Proportion
Indicator sentiment: High values are good
Assessment of variation: This is a Z-scored indicator, refer to the Z-scoring methodology for further details
Data source: Department of Health and Social Care - Adult Social Care Survey

We use weighted data to calculate this indicator. Details of the weighting applied to the data are available in the guidance for the Adult Social Care Survey.

% of people who use services who get adequate food and drink

Full indicator description: The percentage of respondents to the Adult Social Care Survey who got adequate food and drink
Question from data source: Question 5a – "Thinking about the food and drink you get, which of the following statements best describes your situation?"
Numerator: Total responses who answered "I get all the food and drink I like when I want" or "I get adequate food and drink at OK times" to Question 5a
Denominator: Total responses to Question 5a
Observed: Numerator/denominator
Indicator type: Proportion
Indicator sentiment: High values are good
Assessment of variation: This is a Z-scored indicator, refer to the Z-scoring methodology for further details
Data source: Department of Health and Social Care - Adult Social Care Survey

We use weighted data to calculate this indicator. Details of the weighting applied to the data are available in the guidance for the Adult Social Care Survey.

% of people who use services who describe their home as clean and comfortable

Full indicator description: The percentage of respondents to the Adult Social Care Survey who described their home as clean and comfortable
Question from data source: Question 6a – "Which of the following statements best describes how clean and comfortable your home is?"
Numerator: Total responses who answered "My home is as clean and comfortable as I want" or "My home is adequately clean and comfortable" to Question 6a
Denominator: Total responses to Question 6a
Observed: Numerator/denominator
Indicator type: Proportion
Indicator sentiment: High values are good
Assessment of variation: This is a Z-scored indicator, refer to the Z-scoring methodology for further details
Data source: Department of Health and Social Care - Adult Social Care Survey

We use weighted data to calculate this indicator. Details of the weighting applied to the data are available in the guidance for the Adult Social Care Survey.

% of people who reported that they spend their time doing things they value or enjoy

Full indicator description: The percentage of respondents to the Adult Social Care Survey who reported that they were able to spend their time doing things they value or enjoy
Question from data source: Question 9a "Which of the following statements best describes how you spend your time?"
Numerator: Total responses who answered "I’m able to spend my time as I want, doing things I value or enjoy" or "I’m able to do enough of the things I value or enjoy with my time" to Question 9a
Denominator: Total responses to Question 9a
Observed: Numerator/denominator
Indicator type: Proportion
Indicator sentiment: High values are good
Assessment of variation: This is a Z-scored indicator, refer to the Z-scoring methodology for further details
Data source: Department of Health and Social Care - Adult Social Care Survey

We use weighted data to calculate this indicator. Details of the weighting applied to the data are available in the guidance for the Adult Social Care Survey.

% of people who say help and support helps them think and feel better about themselves

Full indicator description: The percentage of respondents to the Adult Social Care Survey who said having help made them think and feel better about themselves
Question from data source: Question 10 "Which of these statements best describes how having help to do things makes you think and feel about yourself?"
Numerator: Total responses who answered "Having help makes me think and feel better about myself" to Question 10
Denominator: Total responses to Question 10
Observed: Numerator/denominator
Indicator type: Proportion
Indicator sentiment: High values are good
Assessment of variation: This is a Z-scored indicator, refer to the Z-scoring methodology for further details
Data source: Department of Health and Social Care - Adult Social Care Survey

We use weighted data to calculate this indicator. Details of the weighting applied to the data are available in the guidance for the Adult Social Care Survey.

% of people who use services who find it easy to find information about support

Full indicator description: The percentage of respondents to the Adult Social Care Survey who found it easy to find information and advice about support, services or benefits in the past year
Question from data source: Question 13 – "In the past year, have you generally found it easy or difficult to find information and advice about support, services or benefits?"
Numerator: Total responses who answered "Very easy to find" or "Fairly easy to find" to Question 13
Denominator: Total weighted responses to Question 13, minus responses who answered "I’ve never tried to find information or advice
Observed: Numerator/denominator
Indicator type: Proportion
Indicator sentiment: High values are good
Assessment of variation: This is a Z-scored indicator, refer to the Z-scoring methodology for further details
Data source: Department of Health and Social Care - Adult Social Care Survey

We use weighted data to calculate this indicator. Details of the weighting applied to the data are available in the guidance for the Adult Social Care Survey.

This indicator is also one of the measures in the Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework (ASCOF), measure 3C1. As we construct the data directly from the Adult Social Care Survey, there may be a small difference between our indicator value and the value published for measure 3C1 in ASCOF.

Personal Social Services Survey of Adult Carers in England (SACE)

View personal social services survey of adult carers in England

% of carers able to spend time doing things they value or enjoy

Full indicator description: The percentage of respondents to the Survey of Adult Carers in England who stated that they were able to spend time doing things they value or enjoy
Question from data source: Question 7 – "Which of the following statements best describes how you spend your time?"
Numerator: Total responses who answered "I'm able to spend my time as I want, doing things I value or enjoy" to Question 7
Denominator: Total responses to Question 7
Observed: Numerator/denominator
Indicator type: Proportion
Indicator sentiment: High values are good
Assessment of variation: This is a Z-scored indicator, refer to the Z-scoring methodology for further details
Data source: NHS England – Survey of Adult Carers in England

We use weighted data to calculate this indicator. Details of the weighting applied to the data are available in the guidance for the Survey of Adult Carers in England. NHS England’s Power BI dashboard uses unweighted data, therefore you may notice differences.

% of carers who find it easy to access information and advice

Full indicator description: The percentage of respondents to the Survey of Adult Carers in England who found it easy to find information and advice about support, services or benefits in the last 12 months
Question from data source: Question 17 – "In the last 12 months, have you found it easy or difficult to find information and advice about support, services or benefits?"
Numerator: Total responses who answered "Very easy to find" and "Fairly easy to find" to Question 17
Denominator: Total responses to Question 17, minus responses who answered "I have not tried to find information or advice in the last 12 months"
Observed: Numerator/denominator
Indicator type: Proportion
Indicator sentiment: High values are good
Assessment of variation: This is a Z-scored indicator, refer to the Z-scoring methodology for further details
Data source: NHS England – Survey of Adult Carers in England

The Survey of Adult Carers in England weights the data to make it accurately represent the population. CQC has used the version of Question 17 where “I have not tried to find information or advice in the last 12 months" was not yet excluded before weighting, as this includes the weighted population who selected this response. You may notice a small difference between our indicator value and the value published for measure 3C2 in ASCOF.

% of carers who found information and advice helpful

Full indicator description: The percentage of respondents to the Survey of Adult Carers in England who found the information and advice they received in the last 12 months helpful
Question from data source: Question 18 – "In the last 12 months, how helpful has the information and advice you have received been?"
Numerator: Total responses who answered "Very helpful" or "Quite helpful" to Question 18
Denominator: Total responses to Question 18, minus responses who answered "I have not received any information or advice in the last 12 months"
Observed: Numerator/denominator
Indicator type: Proportion
Indicator sentiment: High values are good
Assessment of variation: This is a Z-scored indicator, refer to the Z-scoring methodology for further details
Data source: NHS England – Survey of Adult Carers in England

The Survey of Adult Carers in England weights the data to make it accurately represent the population. CQC has used the version of Question 18 where "I have not received any information or advice in the last 12 months" was not yet excluded before weighting, as this includes the weighted population who selected this response. You may notice a small difference between our indicator value and the value published in NHS England’s dashboard.

Evidence category: Processes

Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework (ASCOF)

View measures from the adult social care outcomes framework

% of people 65+ who received reablement/rehabilitation services after discharge from hospital

Full indicator description: The percentage of older people (aged 65 and over) who received reablement/rehabilitation services after discharge from hospital
Numerator: Number of older people aged 65 and over discharged from acute or community hospitals to their own home or to a residential or nursing care home or extra care housing for rehabilitation, with a clear intention that they will move on/back to their own home (including a place in extra care housing or an adult placement scheme setting).
Denominator: Number of older people aged 65 and over discharged from hospitals in England between 1 October and 31 December. This includes all specialities and zero-length stays. Data for geographical areas is based on usual residence of patient.
Observed: Numerator/denominator
Indicator type: Proportion
Indicator sentiment: High values are good
Assessment of variation: This is a Z-scored indicator, refer to the Z-scoring methodology for further details
Data source: NHS England – Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework (ASCOF) - Short and Long Term Support (SALT)
Data Source Table: 2D2

For the full definition and interpretation of this indicator, see the adult social care outcomes framework: handbook of definitions.

% of people who have received short-term support who no longer require support

Full indicator description: The percentage of new service users that received a short-term service during the year where the sequel to service was either no ongoing support or support of a lower level
Numerator: Number of new service users that received a short-term service during the year where the sequel to service was either no ongoing support or support of a lower level
Denominator: Number of new service users who had short-term support to maximise independence
Observed: Numerator/denominator
Indicator type: Proportion
Indicator sentiment: High values are good
Assessment of variation: This is a Z-scored indicator, refer to the Z-scoring methodology for further details
Data source: NHS England – Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework (ASCOF) - Short and Long Term Support (SALT)
Data Source Table: 2A

In this context, short-term support is defined as ‘short-term support which is designed to maximise independence’ and therefore will exclude carer contingency and emergency support. This prevents the inclusion of short-term support services that are not reablement services.

For the full definition and interpretation of this indicator, see the adult social care outcomes framework: handbook of definitions.

% of carers who receive direct payments

Full indicator description: The percentage of carers who receive direct payments
Numerator: Total number of carers receiving direct payments or part-direct payments in the year to 31 March
Denominator: Total number of carers receiving carer-specific services in the year to 31 March
Observed: Numerator/denominator
Indicator type: Proportion
Indicator sentiment: High values are good
Assessment of variation: For this indicator, we have allocated a band according to a set of rules, which accounts for the skewed distribution of the data. The scoring thresholds in the table below are appropriate for identifying variation according to the abnormal distribution of the data for this indicator, where a majority of the Local Authorities show an observed value of 100%. The England average for this rules-based indicator is not calculated, and instead the rules give guidance as to where the Local Authority’s value lies.

Bands	Rules
Similar to expected	The observed value is equal to 100%
Lower than expected	The observed value is less than 100% but greater than or equal to 50%
Much lower than expected	The observed value is less than 50%

Data source: NHS England – Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework (ASCOF) - Short and Long Term Support (SALT)
Data Source Table: 3D2b

For the full definition and interpretation of this indicator, see the adult social care outcomes framework: handbook of definitions.

% of service users who receive direct payments

Full indicator description: The percentage of service users who receive direct payments
Numerator: Total number of service users receiving direct payments and part-direct payments at the year-end 31 March
Denominator: Total number of service users accessing long-term support at the year-end 31 March
Observed: Numerator/denominator
Indicator type: Proportion
Indicator sentiment: High values are good
Assessment of variation: This is a Z-scored indicator, refer to the Z-scoring methodology for further details
Data source: NHS England – Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework (ASCOF) - Short and Long Term Support (SALT)
Data Source Table: 3D2a

For the full definition and interpretation of this indicator, see the adult social care outcomes framework: handbook of definitions.

% of service users aged 18 to 64 accessing long-term support who were receiving direct payments

Full indicator description: Proportion of service users aged 18 to 64 accessing long-term support who were receiving direct payments
Numerator: Number of service users aged 18 to 64 receiving direct payments and part-direct payments at the year-end 31 March
Denominator: Number of service users aged 18 to 64 accessing long-term support at the year-end 31 March
Observed: Numerator/denominator
Indicator type: Proportion
Indicator sentiment: High values are good
Assessment of variation: This is a Z-scored indicator, refer to the Z-scoring methodology for further details
Data source: NHS England – Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework (ASCOF) - Short and Long Term Support (SALT)
Data Source Table: 3D2a

For the full definition and interpretation of this indicator, see the adult social care outcomes framework: handbook of definitions.

% of service users aged 65 and over accessing long-term support who were receiving direct payments

Full indicator description: Proportion of service users aged 65 and over accessing long-term support who were receiving direct payments
Numerator: Number of service users aged 65 and over receiving direct payments and part-direct payments at the year-end 31 March
Denominator: Number of service users aged 65 and over accessing long-term support at the year- end 31 March
Observed: Numerator/denominator
Indicator type: Proportion
Indicator sentiment: High values are good
Assessment of variation: This is a Z-scored indicator, refer to the Z-scoring methodology for further details
Data source: NHS England – Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework (ASCOF) - Short and Long Term Support (SALT)
Data Source Table: 3D2a

For the full definition and interpretation of this indicator, see the adult social care outcomes framework: handbook of definitions.

Adult Social Care Financial Returns and Short and Long-Term Support (ASCFR - SALT)

View adult social care activity and finance report.

% of people 65+ still at home 91 days after discharge from hospital into reablement/rehabilitation services

Full indicator description: The percentage of older people (aged 65 and over) who were still at home 91 days after discharge from hospital into reablement/rehabilitation services
Numerator: The proportion of older people aged 65 and over who have been discharged from hospital to either: their own home, a residential or nursing care home, or extra care housing for rehabilitation, with a clear intention that they will move on/back to their own home (including a place in extra care housing or an adult placement scheme setting) and who are at home or in extra care housing or an adult placement scheme setting 91 days after the date of their discharge from hospital.
Denominator: Number of older people aged 65 and over discharged from acute or community hospitals to their own home or to a residential or nursing care home or extra care housing for rehabilitation, with a clear intention that they will move on/back to their own home (including a place in extra care housing or an adult placement scheme setting).
Observed: Numerator/denominator
Indicator type: Proportion
Indicator sentiment: High values are good
Assessment of variation: This is a Z-scored indicator, refer to the Z-scoring methodology for further details
Data source: NHS England - Adult Social Care Activity and Finance Report, England (ASC-FR) - Short and Long Term Support (SALT)
Data Source Table: Table 1, Sheet ‘STS004’

All data relating to SALT are presented to the nearest 5, with values of 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 suppressed. Some data may not sum due to rounding. As the data is sourced directly from SALT, our indicator value may differ slightly from measure 2D1 in ASCOF.

% of adults with a learning disability who live in their own home or with their family

Full indicator description: The percentage of adults with a learning disability who live in their own home or with their family
Numerator: Number of working age (18 to 64) service users who received long-term support during the year with a primary support reason of learning disability support, who are living on their own or with their family
Denominator: Number of working age (18 to 64) service users who received long-term support during the year with a primary support reason of learning disability support
Observed: Numerator/denominator
Indicator type: Proportion
Indicator sentiment: High values are good
Assessment of variation: This is a Z-scored indicator, refer to the Z-scoring methodology for further details
Data source: NHS England - Adult Social Care Activity and Finance Report, England (ASC-FR) - Short and Long Term Support (SALT)
Data Source Table: Numerator: Table 2A, Sheet ‘LTS004’. Denominator: Table 1A, Sheet ‘LTS001A’

This measure shows the proportion of all adults who receive learning disability support who are ‘known to the council’ and are recorded as living in their own home or with their family.

‘Known to the council’ is defined as those adults of working age with a primary support reason of learning disability support who received long-term support during the year in the settings of Nursing, Residential and Community but excluding Prison.

‘Living on their own or with their family’ is intended to describe arrangements where the individual has security of tenure in their usual accommodation, for instance, because they own the residence or are part of a household whose head holds such security.