This page provides an overview of social care in Norfolk, along with key metrics that could affect social care. Understanding these metrics is important because they help contextualise the challenges with social care provision in each local authority. These statistics are important to keep in mind when reviewing the other pages.
Why are these metrics important? Population size and density can affect the demand for social care services. For example, if a local authority has a high population (relative to other areas), it may need to allocate more resources to meet care needs. Similarly, areas with high population density may require more care services due to the increased number of people living in close proximity. Inversely, areas with a low population density may have fewer care needs, but residents may face challenges accessing services due to the distance between them. Lastly, people in rural areas might live further away from services, which can impact their ability to access care, or make it more expensive to provide.
Understanding these metrics can help local authorities plan and allocate resources effectively.
Deprivation decile is a measure of the level of deprivation in a local authority. It is calculated by ranking areas in England from 1 (most deprived) to 10 (least deprived) based on factors such as income, employment, education, and health. A higher decile indicates lower levels of deprivation, while a lower decile suggests higher levels of deprivation. Understanding deprivation levels can help local authorities identify areas that may require additional support and resources to address social care needs.
IMD 2019 for the Lower Tier Local Authorities: Breckland, Broadland, Great Yarmouth, King’s Lynn and West Norfolk, North Norfolk, Norwich, South Norfolk
Deprivation rank is a measure of the relative deprivation of a local authority compared to other areas in England. It is calculated by ranking areas from 1 (most deprived) to 32,844 (least deprived) Lower Layer Super Output Areas (LSOA), which can be thought of as “small areas”. This rank is based on factors such as income, employment, education, and health. A lower rank indicates higher levels of deprivation, while a higher rank suggests lower levels of deprivation. Understanding deprivation ranks can help local authorities identify areas that may require additional support and resources to address social care needs.
IMD 2019 for the Lower Tier Local Authorities: Breckland, Broadland, Great Yarmouth, King’s Lynn and West Norfolk, North Norfolk, Norwich, South Norfolk
Many people want care, some receive care, but a significant number go without. What types of care are being requested? What care is actually provided? This section explores the gap between need and provision, the types of care available, and how our own data contributes to the understanding of these challenges.
Access Social Care and other Helplines providers are working to bridge this gap by providing free legal support to people who are struggling to access social care services. This first chart illustrates the types of calls we are getting.
The rest of this page distingushes between the different types of care provided to Working Age People and Older People, as we are able to disaggregate at a greater level of granularity.
Note: these values are a work in progress… expect these numbers to go up
This plot shows a breakdown of the types of requests for assistance received by Access Social Care and other helplines. Understanding the themes of these calls can identify areas where additional support and resources may be needed. For example, a high number of calls related to housing may indicate a need for more affordable housing options, while a high number of calls related to social care assessments may suggest a need for improved access to care services. The request types are:
Assessments: An assessment is a meeting or form to find out what help someone needs with daily tasks.
Care Plan: A care plan is a written agreement that lists the support you’ll get and who to contact if things change.
Carers: Carers are people who help a disabled or ill person with daily tasks.
Charging: Charging refers to checking if you can afford to pay for some of your care based on your savings.
Information Seeking: Information seeking means getting advice about available care options.
Legal Issues and Complaints: Legal issues and complaints involve reporting problems with your care to the council or an ombudsman.
Safeguarding: Safeguarding is protecting people from abuse or neglect.
Of course, high numbers also mean that people know where to call, and this number can be impacted by advocacy efforts. As a counterpoint, areas with low numbers may indicate a lack of awareness of available services or a need for more outreach to connect people with support.
To protect privacy, our minimum bin size is 5, which means that if we field 1-5 queries on a topic, we display 5.
Are you a helpline and would like to combine data resources? Let us know!
Access Social Care casework, AccessAva data, and helpline partner submissions
Working Age People
Knowing how many people are requesting social care, how many people are recieving care and what percent of people are disabled helps understand need and social care provision at a top level. For example, a high number of people requesting care may indicate a need for additional resources or services, while a low number of people receiving care may suggest a gap in service provision. Understanding these metrics can help identify areas where additional support may be needed.
MW was diagnosed with Functional Chronic Pain, she cannot walk without support, she holds on to her furniture to move around the house. She uses a wheelchair, especially when she goes out, with support from friends and family. She lives on second floor with 5 flights because of the way the building is designed and there is no lift. She never goes out because of the difficulties she experiences with the stairs. She needs help with cooking, cleaning, shopping and showering. She relies on friends and her mum who has knee replacement.
She was referred by the Social Prescriber who referred her onto also referred her to Croydon Adult Support, they told her they are short of staff to allocate her a social worker, so she was placed on a long waiting list. MW case still hadn’t progressed until the Social Prescriber, who had been recently trained on the Care Act, referred her to Access Social Care’s free legal Chatbot letter clinic.
The legal clinic volunteer completed a letter to Croydon Council with MW within a week which was sent to Adult Social Services. Access Social Care then called her after two weeks to complete a follow up survey. MW informed them that she had had an assessment and was waiting to hear back from Croydon following the panel meeting. Social Services has now done the assessment after which the panel offered MW 9 hours of social care support.
This case study is based on real data from Croydon. Have a story to tell? Let us know, and we might display it here!
This plot shows the types of care provided to working-age people in Norfolk. Understanding the types of care available can help local authorities identify areas where additional support and resources may be needed. For example, a high number of people receiving personal care may indicate a need for more support with daily living activities, while a high number of people receiving respite care may suggest a need for additional support for carers.
ASCFR and SALT Data Tables 2023-24 Sheet T34
The age-standardised disability rate in Norfolk stands at 19.1 per cent, above the England average of 17.6 per cent. Norfolk’s population is large (almost 932,000 in 2023) but spread thinly, with only 170 residents per square kilometre. A wide rural area can make daily life harder for people who have mobility, sight or learning problems; long travel times to work, shops and health care often increase the chance that a limitation turns into a disability. Norfolk is also a county with an older age profile, which raises the overall rate even after age-standardising.
In 2024, 15,865 working-age adults (18–64) asked the council for care or support. This equals 1,702 requests for every 100,000 residents, about 50 per cent above the national figure of 1,143. High demand may reflect a mix of factors: more people with long-term health conditions, difficulties in finding informal help in small villages, and good local awareness of the right to ask for an assessment.
Of those who asked, 6,125 went on to receive a service. The receipt rate, 657 per 100,000, is also above the England average (533). In simple numbers, roughly four in every ten applicants obtained funded support, similar to the national picture, so Norfolk’s higher raw count seems driven mainly by greater underlying need rather than stricter or looser eligibility rules.
Norfolk relies more on residential care and on community services paid for through a council-managed personal budget, and less on pure nursing placements or fully council-commissioned home care. Residential use is 96 per 100,000, over one-and-a-half times the national mean of 61. Community support with a managed budget is 332 per 100,000, again higher than the national 267. By contrast, nursing home use is slightly lower (11 vs 14 per 100,000) and community support arranged solely by the council is lower too (36 vs 58). These choices fit a rural setting where home-care providers may struggle to cover large distances; a managed personal budget lets the person, family or micro-provider design flexible help, while residential homes clustered in market towns offer a back-stop when community options do not work.
Figures for 2025 show only 0.43 requests per 100,000 for assessment advice and 1.18 for information-seeking, both well below national norms. Very low contact can mean the council’s online material answers questions early, yet it can also signal unmet need among residents who lack digital skills or transport to reach a hub. Given the high overall disability rate, outreach in isolated villages may still need strengthening.
Norfolk faces a double challenge: a bigger-than-average disabled population and the extra costs of serving people across a large rural area. Demand is already 50 per cent higher than the national rate and is unlikely to fall as the population ages further. The council may wish to keep expanding flexible personal budgets and small residential units close to local centres, while also improving early information and peer networks in outlying parishes. Targeted transport support and digital inclusion work could stop some needs from escalating into formal care, easing pressure on budgets and offering residents more independent lives.
✨ ✅ ❌Older People
Just like with Working Age people, knowing how many older people are requesting social care, how many people are recieving care and what percent of the population is 65+ helps understand need and social care provision at a top level.
Jamaican female, blind and in her 40s. She was in an emergency Bed & Breakfast with her Niece, who acts as her unofficial carer, she is unable to work but would like to go to University. She is receiving PIP but not the Daily Living Allowance which she applied for in June 2021. She is vulnerable and has a history of self harm so was assigned a rehab Support Worker. Vanessa supported her using the Chatbot to chase up her PIP Daily Living allowance application, after waiting for several months and they received a reply within a week but was awarded the lower rate.
Another Chatbot letter was sent to request an urgent assessment due to her vulnerability and this was action quickly by the LA. Vanessa also supported her to use the chatbot and ask the Social worker to be moved to a place that supports her needs and rights. As she was having to use a shared bathroom, toilet and kitchen in a place with drug/alcohol abusers and being blind with no carer, this left her vulnerable. The Chatbot was used again to raise this issue and after a few weeks she was successfully moved to a private property in another area.
This case study is based on real data from Croydon. Have a story to tell? Let us know, and we might display it here!
As above, it is important to see what type of care older people are being provided because it can help explain where additional work is needed.
ASCFR and SALT Data Tables 2023-24 Sheet T34
Norfolk had about 932,000 residents in 2023. Only 170 people live in each square kilometre, far below the England average of 2,469. The county is therefore very rural. Between 2019 and 2023 the share of residents aged 65 plus rose from 24.3 per cent to 24.8 per cent. England stayed near 18–19 per cent. The gap shows that Norfolk is already an older county and is ageing a little faster than the country as a whole. Many older people move to the coast and the Broads for retirement, while fewer young adults stay for work. This shape of the population means a larger part of local services must focus on later life.
In 2024 the council recorded 33,775 requests for support from people aged 65 and over. This equals 3,624 requests per 100,000 residents, well above the national rate of 2,438. High demand is to be expected when one in four residents is over 65. Rural life can also add to need, because family and services are spread out and transport is limited. Moderate levels of deprivation in some coastal towns may further increase requests.
Norfolk supported 11,580 older people with long-term care in 2024, a rate of 1,243 per 100,000. England’s average was 1,003. The county therefore moves a high share of requests into actual care packages. This can mean that applicants have greater eligible needs, or that the council has chosen to meet needs more generously to keep people safe in remote areas.
The pattern of services is mixed. Residential care stands out at 421 per 100,000, far above the England rate of 250. Nursing home use is lower, at 67 per 100,000 compared with 122 nationally. Many Norfolk care homes are small and geared to lower nursing needs; complex health cases may be met by community health teams instead. Community support that is fully council-commissioned is rare (14 per 100,000 versus 137). Instead, the county relies on personal budgets: 661 per 100,000 receive a council-managed personal budget and 64 per 100,000 take a direct payment only. Personal budgets may fit well with rural living, allowing flexible hiring of local helpers.
In 2025 the council logged very small numbers of older residents asking for help with assessments, finance, or legal issues. Rates stayed below 1.2 per 100,000, while national figures ranged from 0.7 to 5.7. These low counts could mean that earlier signposting works well, but they might also show under-recording. If people cannot find advice early, later requests for formal care may rise.
An ageing and scattered population is already placing heavy demand on adult social care, and this demand is met mainly through residential homes and flexible personal budgets. Keeping more people at home will need a larger community workforce and reliable transport. Planning now is vital, because the share of older residents is still growing.
✨ ✅ ❌When government support falls short, unpaid carers step in to provide care. However, many struggle with burnout, financial pressure, lack of social contact, and a lack of support. This section explores the number of unpaid carers, their increasing workload, and what forms of support are available.
Carers play a vital role in supporting vulnerable adults, often stepping in to provide care when professional services are unavailable or insufficient. The percentage of carers receiving direct payments highlights financial empowerment, the number of carers accessing services reflects local authority outreach, and the number turning to charities underscores unmet needs. Together, these data points reveal systemic strengths and weaknesses: low direct payment uptake may push carers toward charities, while effective services can reduce dependence on charitable support. Understanding these metrics enables targeted interventions to ensure carers receive the recognition and resources they deserve.
Unpaid carers play a crucial role in supporting vulnerable adults, often stepping in to provide care when professional services are unavailable or insufficient. Understanding the number of unpaid carers in a local authority can be complicated. On the one hand, a relatively high proportion might be indicative of not enough being done by the local authority, and/or a strong community. On the other hand, a relatively lower number can mean good service provision, lower need, lower availability to look after family, or a problem with reporting.
Still, understanding the number of unpaid carers is a baseline number that must be considered.
NOMIS NM_2213_1
These values are widely considered to be an underestimate. See this report from Carers UK for more information.
August 2021 - Patient with dementia who lives in a shared lives setting. Carer had been requesting respite from the council since September 2020. Croydon Social Prescriber helped with a referral to the local authority in March 2021. Assessment conducted, with the promise they would come back with support, which did not happen. 25 August, social prescriber used the chatbot to find the right legal wording for the situation. The email was sent at 4.52pm that day. At 5.12pm the council contacted the carer to discuss the respite. This was the impact of one letter, addressed to a senior team.
This case study is based on real data from Croydon. Have a story to tell? Let us know, and we might display it here!
Social contact is important for carers’ well-being, as it can help reduce feelings of isolation and loneliness. Understanding the level of social contact that carers have can help local authorities identify areas where additional support and resources may be needed. For example, a low level of social contact may indicate a need for more social activities or support groups for carers, while a high level of social contact may suggest that carers have a strong support network.
Survey of Adult Carers in England (SACE) - question 11
The type of support available to carers can vary significantly, impacting their ability to provide care effectively. Understanding the types of support available can help identify areas where additional resources may be needed. For example, a high number of carers receiving respite care may indicate a need for more support with caregiving responsibilities, while a low number of carers receiving financial support may suggest a need for additional financial assistance.
ASCFR/SALT Sheet T47
Access to information is crucial for carers to navigate the social care system effectively. Understanding how easy it is for carers to get information can help local authorities identify areas where additional support and resources may be needed. For example, a high number of carers finding it difficult to get information may indicate a need for improved communication and support services, while a low number of carers finding it difficult to get information may suggest that existing services are effective.
Would you like social care information? Try our Chatbot!
Survey of Adult Carers in England (SACE) - question 17
Note: these values are a work in progress… expect these numbers to go up
Access Social Care and other Helplines help people with information, advice, and support related to social care. Understanding the types of calls received by carers can highlight areas where additional support and resources may be needed. For example, a high number of calls related to financial support may indicate a need for more financial assistance for carers, while a high number of calls related to respite care may suggest a need for additional support with caregiving responsibilities.
It is important to note that, just as in the previous section, low numbers of requests might indicate that people don’t know where to get help, don’t feel they can get (or deserve) help, or other outreach problems. This is particularly important because we often work with people where the role of a carer is not recognised, or where the carer themselves does not recognise their role.
Access Social Care casework, AccessAva data, and helpline partner submissions
In 2021 Norfolk had about 8,877 unpaid carers for every 100,000 residents. With a mid-year population of 918,000, this points to roughly 81,500 people who look after a friend or relative without pay. The rate is six per cent higher than the England figure of 8,204 per 100,000. Norfolk is large, rural and older than average, so more people are likely to need help with day-to-day tasks and fewer paid care services may be close by. These factors can push families to take on caring roles themselves.
Only 26.6 per cent of respondents in 2024 said they had as much social contact as they would like, compared with 29.3 per cent nationally. A gap of three percentage points may look small, yet it matters. Rural living means longer travel times to groups or respite services, and carers often have limited free time. Lower contact can raise the risk of isolation and poor mental health, so early support is vital.
Fifty-nine per cent of carers felt it was easy to find information about services, almost identical to the England average of 59.3 per cent. Signposting appears to work reasonably well, but it has not translated into higher social contact or uptake of personalised support. This suggests that knowing where help is does not always mean it is accessible or suitable.
Norfolk issues direct payments to only 8.0 carers per 100,000 residents, far below the national rate of 149.9. Managed personal budgets (8.0 per 100,000) and council-commissioned support only (25.2 per 100,000) also sit well under national norms. In contrast, 368 carers per 100,000 receive information, advice or other universal services, slightly above the England figure of 339. Respite delivered to the cared-for person is also higher than average (92.8 versus 70.0 per 100,000).
This pattern shows a strong focus on light-touch help and breaks, but limited use of cash or personalised packages. Two factors may drive this. First, the county’s low population density (170 residents per km² against 2470 nationally) makes it harder to build the provider market that direct payments rely on. Second, moderate deprivation means fewer carers feel confident managing a budget, especially when broadband or transport are limited.
Only one carer-related safeguarding concern was logged in 2025, a rate of 0.11 per 100,000 compared with 0.75 nationally. Numbers are too small for firm conclusions, yet they may hint at low reporting rather than low risk, given the high number of unpaid carers.
Norfolk’s carers are numerous and, on the whole, can find information, but many still feel alone and make little use of flexible funding. Investment in community hubs, mobile support teams and digital skills could widen social networks and make personal budgets more practical in rural settings. Building a larger pool of micro-providers would also let carers spend direct payments locally, easing pressure on the council’s commissioned services. Monitoring safeguarding referrals should continue to ensure low figures reflect genuine safety, not unmet need.
✨ ✅ ❌Care providers are essential for delivering social care services, including home care agencies and care homes. The quality of care they provide can vary significantly, impacting the well-being of service users. This section examines the number and types of care providers, their quality ratings, and some of the difficulties of maintaining high standards. Understanding these metrics is crucial for ensuring that vulnerable individuals receive high-quality care.
The number and types of care providers in a local authority can impact the availability and quality of social care services. Understanding the distribution of care providers directly influences people’s ability to get the care they need.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) rates care providers based on their quality of care, safety, and effectiveness. Understanding the quality ratings of care providers can help local authorities identify areas where additional support and resources may be needed. For example, a high number of care providers with low ratings may indicate a need for improved training and support, while a high number of care providers with high ratings may suggest that existing services are effective.
Framework rates are the agreed prices that local authorities pay care providers for social care services, such as home care and residential care. These rates are crucial because they determine the affordability, availability, and quality of care in a city. If rates are too low, providers may struggle to sustain services, leading to workforce shortages, poor care quality, and limited access for those relying on council-funded care.
Understanding framework rates helps assess whether local authorities are adequately funding social care, ensuring fair pay for care workers, and maintaining a sustainable care market that meets residents’ needs.
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Several providers are finding it increasingly difficult to stay in business, and sometimes several providers collapse at once. For example, when pay rises are approved without consultation and effective immediately, providers may not be able to afford to pay their staff. This can cause a chain-effect which leads to collapse in the market, and a lack of care for those who need it.
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Workforce turnover rate is a measure of the number of staff leaving a care provider over a specific period. High turnover rates can indicate issues with staff retention, such as low pay, poor working conditions, or lack of training and support. Understanding workforce turnover rates can help local authorities identify areas where additional support and resources may be needed to improve staff retention and ensure high-quality care services.
NOTE: This data series is based on regional data
Staff retention is crucial for maintaining high-quality care services. Understanding the challenges faced by care providers in retaining staff can help local authorities identify areas where additional support and resources may be needed. For example, a high number of care providers struggling to retain staff may indicate a need for improved training and support, while a low number of care providers facing retention challenges may suggest that existing services are effective.
This dataset describes the results of a survey asking care providers about their challenges in retaining staff.
NOTE: This data series is based on regional data
Workforce_survey_data_tables, Tab 6_2
Vacancy rate is a measure of the number of unfilled positions within a care provider over a specific period. High vacancy rates can indicate issues with staff recruitment, such as low pay, poor working conditions, or lack of training and support. Understanding vacancy rates can help local authorities identify areas where additional support and resources may be needed to improve staff recruitment and ensure high-quality care services.
Recruiting staff is essential for maintaining high-quality care services, and for backfilling staff when they leave. Understanding the challenges faced by care providers in recruiting staff can help local authorities identify areas where additional support and resources may be needed. For example, a high number of care providers struggling to recruit staff may indicate a need for improved training and support, or can point to a systemic problem, such as low pay, poor working conditions, or not enough people interested in this job type.
Staff recruitment is important as it’s one of the areas that have levers to pull outside of social care, for example, by changing how many visas are awarded to social care workers.
NOTE: This data series is based on regional data
Workforce_survey_data_tables, Tab 6_2
Norfolk supports a large care sector. In 2024 there are 135 community-based adult social care services and 311 residential services. These headline figures look high, yet the county’s population, now about 932,000, is more than double the average English local authority. When the numbers are viewed per head, Norfolk has roughly 14.5 community services per 100,000 residents, slightly below the national benchmark of about 16.9, while residential provision stands at about 33.4 per 100,000, well above the national norm of 24.1. The pattern suggests that Norfolk leans more on residential care than many parts of England, perhaps reflecting the age structure of its residents, long travel times between rural settlements and limited home-care capacity.
Around 30.4 percent of Norfolk’s regulated providers are rated ‘requires improvement’ or ‘inadequate’, almost twice the England average of 16.8 percent. This gap indicates systemic quality pressures rather than isolated failures. The county’s sparse settlement pattern – only 170 usual residents per square kilometre compared with an English mean well above 2,000 – can make it hard for regulators, commissioners and support teams to visit services frequently and for providers to share good practice. Moderate deprivation, with a mean decile close to 5, does not fully explain the shortfall. Instead, operational factors such as staffing, travel costs and economies of scale in small rural homes are likely to be important.
The staff turnover rate for 2023/24 is 23.9 percent in England and 23.9 percent in the wider Eastern region; Norfolk closely mirrors this at 23.9 percent. Vacancy rates are marginally better than average (8.0 percent versus 8.4). However, perception data show acute strain: 82.9 percent of employers say recruitment is now more or much more difficult, and 70.9 percent report similar problems with retention, both a little higher than regional and national scores. With 100 percent of some districts classified as rural, the workforce often faces long journeys, poor public transport and limited housing choice, all of which raise the cost of attracting and keeping staff. Even a slightly lower vacancy rate may hide hidden gaps where shifts are filled by agency staff, adding cost and instability.
Norfolk’s population has risen by about 25,000 in the last four years and continues to age faster than the national profile. More people will need support at home if the county is to avoid further growth in residential placements. Yet the current supply of community providers is already below average after adjusting for population size, and one in three services performs below the expected quality standard. Unless quality improves and home-care capacity expands, older people may experience delayed discharges from hospital or move into residential care sooner than necessary.
Commissioners may wish to strengthen quality improvement programmes, perhaps by pairing weaker services with high-performing peers and by expanding virtual supervision to mitigate travel barriers. Investment in skills training, rural transport solutions and affordable key-worker housing could ease recruitment problems. Finally, targeted growth of community services would rebalance the market, giving people greater choice to remain at home while reducing long-term pressure on costlier residential beds.
✨ ✅ ❌Historically, hospital delays have been due in large part, to the inability to discharge patients into social care. We no longer have DTOC data, but we can still look at the number of hospital delays and the number of facilities requiring improvement.
CQC, as the regulator of health and social care services in England, is beginning to rate Local Authorities on their social care provision. Understanding the CQC rating of a local authority should be used as the most official evaluation of service care provision. For example, a low rating may indicate a need for improved service delivery, while a high rating may suggest that existing services are effective.
Hospital delays can have a significant impact on patient care and outcomes, and are in large part the result of not having invested sufficiently in social care. Understanding the number of hospital delays in a local authority can be a sympthom of a poorly working social care sector. For example, a high number of hospital delays may indicate a need for improved discharge planning and coordination, not enough places to discharge people to, lack of sufficient staff to assess patients, or a lack of care providers.
Discharge-Ready-Date-monthly-data-webfile-November-2024, Tab UTLA Acceptable
This metric illustrates how long patients are delayed in hospital before being discharged. Higher average delays mean that patients are spending more time in hospital than necessary, which can lead to increased costs, reduced bed availability, and poorer patient outcomes. This also means that the beds are not available for people that might desperately need them for life-saving procedures.
Discharge-Ready-Date-monthly-data-webfile-November-2024, Tab UTLA Acceptable
Delayed Transfer of Care (DTOC) refers to the time between a patient being declared medically fit for discharge and actually leaving the hospital. Understanding the number of DTOCs in a local authority can help identify precisely where the social care system is failing.
Unfortunately, this dataset is no longer being generated.
Reablement is a short-term service that helps people regain independence and confidence after a period of illness or injury. Understanding the number of people receiving reablement services can help local authorities identify areas where additional support and resources may be needed. For example, a high number of people receiving reablement services may indicate a need for more support with daily living activities, while a low number of people receiving reablement services may suggest that existing services are effective.
Coming soon!
Service user satisfaction is a key indicator of the quality of social care services. Understanding service user satisfaction can help local authorities identify areas where additional support and resources may be needed. For example, a low level of service user satisfaction may indicate a need for improved service delivery, while a high level of service user satisfaction may suggest that existing services are effective.
It is important to note that the people surveyed are already receiving service care. Notably absent are all the people that are not yet lucky enough to be receiving care.
Personal Social Services Adult Social Care Survey, question 1
Access to information is crucial for people using social care services to navigate the system effectively. Understanding how easy it is for people to get information can help local authorities identify areas where additional support and resources may be needed. For example, a high number of people finding it difficult to get information may indicate a need for improved communication and support services, while a low number of people finding it difficult to get information may suggest that existing services are effective.
Would you like social care information? Try our Chatbot!
Personal Social Services Adult Social Care Survey, question 13
An ombudsman is a person who has been appointed to look into complaints about companies and organisations. The number of cases received and decided by the Ombudsman is important because it provides insight into the volume of complaints about a local authority’s social care services and how effectively these complaints are being addressed. The number of cases received indicates the level of dissatisfaction or systemic issues within a council’s care provision, while the number of cases decided shows how efficiently the Ombudsman is processing and resolving complaints. A large gap between the two may suggest delays in complaint handling, leaving individuals waiting.
It is important to note that contacting the Ombudsman is widely considered a last resort, often discouraged, and sometimes penalised.
CQC data for November 2024 shows that 79 per cent of hospital discharges for Norfolk residents came from trusts rated “acceptable” or better. The national figure is 89 per cent, so one in five Norfolk discharges still comes from a lower-rated provider. Norfolk’s population is large (about 932,000) but very spread out, with only 170 usual residents per square kilometre. Many people rely on medium-sized district hospitals or must travel outside the county. This wide geography makes it harder to concentrate activity in the highest-performing trusts and may explain the gap in provider quality.
Flow out of hospital is also more difficult in Norfolk. Seventeen-and-a-half per cent of discharges were delayed, compared with 12.3 per cent across England. On average each discharge was held up for just over one day, while the national mean delay is around 0.7 days. These figures suggest pressure in community and social care services, not only in the wards themselves. Norfolk is both older and more rural than England overall; staff travel times are longer and recruiting home-care workers is harder, so beds stay occupied for longer.
Survey data for 2024 paints a mixed picture. Sixty-six per cent of respondents said they were satisfied with their care and support, a little above the England average of 64.7 per cent. However, a separate NatCen question found 57 per cent reporting dissatisfaction with social care. The difference between the two surveys may reflect how the questions were phrased, yet it also hints at uneven quality: many people are content, while a sizeable minority feel let down.
Finding information about help is slightly harder in Norfolk. Two-thirds (66.8 per cent) of users said it was easy to get service information, below the national rate of 68.2 per cent. Rural broadband gaps, limited public transport and a complex provider map could all make navigation more difficult, especially for older residents and carers.
Complaint activity supports this picture. The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman received 4.83 cases per 100,000 residents and decided 4.51, both above England averages (4.45 and 4.12). Because the figures are normalised for population size, they point to a genuine excess of concerns being escalated. Higher complaint rates can indicate rising expectations or unresolved issues in frontline services.
Norfolk’s population has grown by around 25,000 since 2019, adding demand to services that already cover wide rural areas. Deprivation is mixed: some districts sit in the 3rd decile, others in the 7th. This variety means that while parts of the county are fairly affluent, coastal and market-town communities face higher need and fewer local resources. The result is a patchwork of outcomes, visible in the contrast between overall satisfaction and persistent complaints.
Improvement work therefore needs to target both capacity and consistency. Strengthening home-care and re-ablement teams would shorten the length of stay and reduce delayed discharges. Building stronger links with out-of-county “good” and “outstanding” trusts could raise the proportion of high-quality discharges. Accessible, perhaps digital, information services would help people and carers navigate the system, while regular analysis of Ombudsman decisions can highlight training or commissioning gaps.
With a growing, dispersed and ageing population, Norfolk’s challenge is to make high-quality care reliable in every part of the county, not just in the better-served market towns. Focusing on discharge pathways, workforce supply and clear communication will be central to sustained quality improvement.
✨ ✅ ❌We need to understand how much money is being spent on social care, and what this provides. First, let’s look at values reported by local authorities.
Gross Current Expenditure (2023-24) captures the total operational cost of services, indicating overall demand and financial commitment. This includes spending on residential and non-residential care, direct payments, and other social care services. Understanding gross expenditure helps assess the scale of social care provision and financial pressures on local authorities.
ASCFR/SALT Sheet T3
This figure reflects the net cost of social care provision to the local authority, indicating the extent of financial support required to meet service demands. Understanding net expenditure helps assess the financial sustainability of social care services and the commitment level of the local authority.
ASCFR/SALT Sheet T3
Client Contributions, otherwise known as “Charging”, show the extent to which service users offset costs. Understanding client contributions helps assess the financial burden on individuals and the local authority, highlighting the need for fair and equitable funding mechanisms.
It is important to note that not all local authorities charge for social care services, and that charging can be a barrier to accessing care for some individuals.
ASCFR/SALT Sheet T3
Income from NHS reflects external funding and collaboration with the health sector. Understanding NHS contributions helps understand the level of integration between health and social care.
ASCFR/SALT Sheet T3
Budget Cuts indicate financial constraints and potential service reductions. Sometimes, budget cuts are explicit, but other times, they aren’t mentioned directly, making tracking this information difficult to access.
As such, this data is not consistently available for all local authorities.
Access Social Care have made a series of Freedom of Information requests about the government’s own assessment of sufficiency of social care funding. The social care sector is in crisis, yet the government refuses to disclose how it determines funding sufficiency. Without transparency, there is little accountability, no independent scrutiny to improve decision-making, and government trust heavily impacted. Evidence from across the sector indicates a severe funding gap, but without open data, meaningful reform remains impossible. True solutions require honesty about the scale of the problem to then work towards a fair and equitable funding model.
The government appears to know how much money is required for social care, and yet they are not making that known.
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In 2024 Norfolk spent about £54 .8 million for every 100,000 residents on adult social care. This is roughly £6 .1 million per 100,000 higher than the England mean. When we multiply the per-capita figure by the county’s mid-2023 population of 932,000, gross expenditure comes to about £510 million. The county therefore puts a larger share of its local resources into social care than the average council.
Several local factors help to explain the above-average spend. Norfolk is a large rural county; nearly half of its residents live in settlements classed as rural, and population density is only 170 people per km². Low density pushes up transport time, limits economies of scale, and makes it harder to pool services. The population has also been growing steadily, rising by around 25,000 people since 2019. A growing and scattered population often means extra cost just to keep service coverage stable.
Need is shaped not only by geography but also by income and health. The deprivation data show a mixed picture, with some districts better off and some worse than the national norm. On average, however, Norfolk’s rank is slightly more deprived than England as a whole. Poorer health and lower savings in these areas can increase demand for publicly funded care, again lifting expenditure.
Client contributions reduce gross spending by about £7,027 per 100,000 residents, leaving a net spend of £47 .8 million per 100,000. This is still above the national mean by £7.3 million. The relatively low level of client income in Norfolk is notable; it is two hundred pounds per 100,000 below the England mean. Lower contributions may reflect smaller disposable income among older people, limited property wealth, or a charging policy that is more generous than average.
NHS contributions sit at £7,495 per 100,000, again below the national mean. Fewer jointly funded packages or slower take-up of the Better Care Fund could be reasons. A weaker NHS share means the council must meet a larger part of the bill from its own budget, keeping net costs high despite lower client income.
High per-capita spending is not necessarily a sign of inefficiency. In Norfolk it looks like a response to structural features: rurality, an ageing and growing population, and pockets of deprivation. At the same time, the funding mix is tilted towards the council, with smaller flows from individuals and the NHS. This limits headroom for innovation and may expose services to risk if grants or reserves fall.
Better integration with health partners could help balance the load. Work to support more people to live independently would also matter, because travel and staffing costs rise quickly when care must be taken to remote homes. Monitoring future population growth is important; even modest increases translate into several million pounds of extra demand each year at current spending rates.
Information on planned budget cuts is missing, yet the present data suggest that any significant reduction would put pressure on service quality or access. Given the known cost drivers, sustaining the present spending level, rather than cutting it, may be the safer course if unmet need is to be avoided.
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