Transforming social care data in Scotland
- Social and community care
About the transformation
Scotland’s social care system is undergoing a significant transformation.
We are changing how data is collected, shared and used.
This is to improve outcomes for people using and delivering services in Scotland.
At the heart of this change is the Social Care Data Intelligence Programme Board (SCDIPB).
The SCDIPB consists of representatives from across the social care sector who are leading efforts to modernise the national data landscape.
Their vision is to create a future where Scottish social care benefits from trusted, high-quality data that reflects real experiences.
About the Social Care Data and Intelligence Programme Board (SCDIPB)
The Social Care Data and Intelligence Programme Board (SCDIPB) has been established to provide co-ordination, oversight, and delivery of accurate, timely and accessible adult social care and social work data.
It consists of senior leaders from central and local government, national health boards, health and social care partnerships (HSCPs) and partner agencies including the Care Inspectorate and Scottish Care.
The SCDI Executive team will manage the overall delivery of the programme as a joint endeavour between:
- Public Health Scotland (PHS)
- Scottish Government (SG)
- Local Government
We aim to:
- Review and refine the current data landscape in collaboration with data users and providers, addressing any data gaps in the service user journey.
- Generate efficiencies and maximise value by:
- Removing duplication in data collected.
- Reducing manual collections where possible
- Aiming for a 'submit once, use many times' data flow.
- Improve data quality and completeness.
- Make use of the latest technologies for data processing and analysis.
- Establish consistent, once-for-Scotland Information Governance and data sharing arrangements.
- Timely and accessible analysis is available to support decision makers.
A modernised social care and social work data landscape where:
- The full service user journey (from unmet need to outcomes) can be evidenced with good quality data
- Data provider burden is minimised.
- Data is used and shared appropriately in a transparent and trusted environment
- Scottish social work and social care are empowered by trusted, high-quality data that reflects real experiences, and drives meaningful change in social care quality and outcomes.
Why change is needed
Despite the richness of existing datasets, there are challenges too.
The following make it difficult to understand an individual’s social care journey:
- overlapping data collections
- inconsistent definitions
- gaps in the care pathways especially around Social Work referrals and assessments to Adult Social Care
Data about adult social care services and users is collected and analysed by:
- the Scottish Government (SG)
- Public Health Scotland (PHS)
- other partner agencies
According to the Office for Statistical Regulation’s 2020 report on Adult Social Care Statistics, issues of national importance in Scotland are:
- understanding more about people who need or provide care and the impact it has on their lives
- how the adult social care sector is currently delivered
- how this might need to change in the future
But users have been frustrated that the data does not currently allow these issues to be fully explored.
In 2022, the SG carried out a mapping of national adult social care data sources. This listed 10 data separate collections, including Source. Source also consists of separate data collections.
Despite the breadth of available data, there are inefficiencies.
Data may have:
- duplication
- gaps
- differing data quality and completeness.
Fragmented information governance arrangements mean that data is often stored and used in silos.
This means it is not shared easily.
Multiple demands for data from different agencies place a significant burden on data providers.
The technical infrastructure underpinning data capture and storage has not kept pace with wider technological developments.
It lacks the flexibility to adapt to the evolving needs of its users.
Many improvement projects to address these issues either exist or are planned.
However, there has been little co-ordination of these activities across the system. This is what the SCDIPB intends to tackle.
What has been agreed?
We will pursue a fundamental transformation of the data landscape, in collaboration with data providers and users.
The initial phase includes:
- a pause on some data collections to release capacity
- a comprehensive review of the current landscape
- a commitment to deliver a core minimum data set for care home data
This approach was informed by workshops involving key stakeholders including:
- Public Health Scotland (PHS)
- Scottish Government (SG)
- COSLA
- the Care Inspectorate
- the Scottish Social Services Council
The data and the changes
| Collection | Change | Reason for change |
|---|---|---|
| Eligibility and Waiting Times | Stop | Due to data quality issues and to release capacity to scope and develop alternative data sources. |
| Annual Care Home Census | Pause | To focus efforts on defining a care home minimum dataset and progressing broader data transformation across social care. |
| People requiring a Social Care Assessment | Reduce | Reducing collection from weekly snapshots to monthly will maintain the current reporting frequency with minimal effect on the insights that can be drawn from the trend data produced. This change will ease the burden on data providers and release capacity to focus efforts on wider data improvement work. |
The existing national Source Social Care dataset is a quarterly extract of individual-level data about:
- social care clients
- the services and support they receive
This is collected by Public Health Scotland.
The dataset will be reviewed to identify:
- any overlaps, gaps or duplication with other collections
- how it can be adapted to meet the emerging needs of a wide range of users.
This will include how we can exploit the Community Health Index (CHI) to enable data to be linked to other sources.
This will allow us to gain a better understanding of the full health and social care pathway.
Can you help?
We want to deliver change that:
- supports people to deliver their roles
- informs policy decisions
- improves service planning
- creates a responsive, data-driven social care system.
If you have faced challenges with using or providing social care data, your feedback is important.
We are establishing user groups and a survey to take this work forward and to support your data needs.
Email the SCDIPB if you would like to get involved or have any questions about participation.
Contact us about the social care data transformation
If you would like to get involved or have any questions, email the SCDIPB.
If you have any questions about:
- the Source social care dataset
- the work of Public Health Scotland(PHS) in this area