This page provides an overview of social care in Northumberland, 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: Northumberland
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: Northumberland
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 Northumberland. 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 latest figures show that 19.6 % of adults in Northumberland are classed as disabled after age-standardisation. The England average is 17.6 %. In other words, about one person in five lives with a limiting condition. The county therefore starts from a higher base of need.
Northumberland has 327,055 residents and only 63.9 people per square kilometre. Most of England is far more crowded. Travel times are long and local services are spread out. Deprivation is mixed: the mean decile is close to the national value, but the large spread (standard deviation 2.87) means that very poor and very affluent areas sit side by side. Rurality and uneven poverty often push up rates of disability linked to manual work, poor transport, and limited access to early health care.
Among adults aged 18–64, 1,870 people asked the council for care in 2024. This equals 572 requests per 100,000 working-age residents, around half the national rate of 1,143 per 100,000. A lower request rate, set against a higher disability rate, could point to barriers in reaching the council – such as distance, poor internet, or a culture of self-reliance in rural communities. It may also reflect better prevention or informal support, but the later data on services received suggests unmet demand is the more likely story.
In the same year 2,150 working-age adults were in receipt of long-term support. That is 657 per 100,000 people, well above the England mean of 533 per 100,000. Once someone is known to the authority, Northumberland appears more willing or more able to put a package in place.
The pattern of services is revealing:
• Residential places (73 per 100,000) are higher than average, while nursing places (12 per 100,000) sit just below the norm. This hints that complex health-led cases may be transferred to neighbouring areas, but social-care-led residential homes are used more frequently at home.
• Community support arranged and managed by the council (384 per 100,000) is far above the national figure. Direct payments that are fully self-managed are lower than average. For a scattered county this makes sense; many people may not want or be able to organise their own care when providers are few and travel costs high.
The 2025 snapshot shows very small numbers of people asking for information, assessments, or help with charging. All five categories sit below the respective national means. This again suggests that residents may not know the routes into support, or that the council’s own outreach is finding people before a formal request is logged.
Northumberland carries a heavier burden of disability than the country as a whole, yet initial contact with services is light. Once a person is in the system, the council provides above-average levels of residential and council-managed community care. The rural context shapes this pattern: long distances raise the cost of at-home visits, make direct payments harder to use, and may limit the supply of nursing homes.
Future policy should improve early advice channels, perhaps through mobile or digital hubs, while keeping the strong commitment to funded community packages. Extra focus on transport, outreach, and flexible provider contracts would help convert the high underlying need into timely support rather than late, more expensive placements.
✨ ✅ ❌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
Northumberland is a large and mainly rural county. In 2023 it had about 327,000 residents, but only 64 people for every square kilometre. That is one-fortieth of the England average, so services must reach people who live far apart. The share of residents who are aged 65 or above has risen for five years, from 24.8 % in 2019 to 26.3 % in 2023. England stayed near 18–19 % in the same period. This means roughly 86,000 older people now live in the county. Deprivation is close to the national middle, yet it is uneven: some areas are well-off, others are in the bottom third. Rurality, distance and mixed wealth shape the kind of help older people need and how easy it is to give that help.
In 2024 the council recorded 7,195 requests for support from people aged 65 and over. That equals 2,200 requests for every 100,000 residents, a little below the England figure of 2,438. The lower rate may look positive, yet it can also show hidden need. Long travel times, family help or lack of broadband may stop some residents from asking for formal support. Keeping an eye on request rates is important, because even a small rise in so large an older population would bring many extra cases.
Once a request is made, Northumberland is more likely than the average area to offer a service. In 2024, 5,275 older people were getting council-funded care. This is 1,613 per 100,000 residents, far above the England rate of 1,003. The mix of services also differs:
Nursing home use is 150 per 100,000, a little higher than the national 122. Residential home use is strikingly high at 508 per 100,000, double the England figure of 250. The county also supports many people at home through council-managed personal budgets (761 per 100,000 against 508 nationally). In contrast, direct payment-only packages are lower than average. These patterns suggest that the council often keeps a strong managing role, perhaps because arranging care in scattered villages is complex and local supply is limited.
Early data for 2025 hint at low numbers of older people who ask only for information or help with charges. The rate for advice on charging, for example, is 4.3 per 100,000, below the England norm of 5.7. This again may reflect distance and digital access rather than low interest. Improving clear, remote advice could prevent later crisis calls.
The very high and growing share of older residents, together with the county’s wide geography, means demand is likely to keep rising even if per-capita request rates stay stable. High use of residential care shows current reliance on building-based services. Encouraging more self-directed or community options may help people stay near home and reduce travel costs for families and staff. Good broadband, mobile networks and transport links will support this shift.
Because deprivation varies sharply between places, targeted outreach in poorer coastal and former mining areas could uncover unmet need. Close monitoring of request data, extra sign-posting and support for carers will be vital. Taken together, the data point to a need for sustained investment in home- and community-based care, smarter digital access, and flexible budgets that recognise the special rural context of Northumberland.
✨ ✅ ❌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 Northumberland had about 31,000 unpaid carers. This equals 9,678 carers for every 100,000 residents, well above the England average of 8,204. The county’s population is slightly smaller than the national average but spread over a large rural area, with only 64 people per square kilometre. Living far apart often means family members, friends, and neighbours must step in when services are distant. The higher carer rate therefore seems linked to geography as much as to need.
Northumberland is not highly deprived overall, yet deprivation differs sharply from place to place. Some communities rank much lower than others. In such mixed settings unpaid carers may fill gaps where formal help is harder to reach or unevenly funded.
Almost half of local carers (47.4 %) say they have as much social contact as they would like, far better than the national figure of 29.3 %. This suggests that community ties in rural towns and villages remain strong. Small settlements often rely on informal networks such as local clubs, churches, or volunteer groups. These networks seem to protect carers from isolation even when professional support is limited.
Two-thirds of carers (66.8 %) feel it is easy to find information about services, again above the England average of 59.3 %. Good signposting is especially important in a county where physical services may be far away. The data hint that the council and voluntary sector have invested in clear online portals, advice lines, and outreach events, helping carers navigate what is on offer.
The pattern of direct support is different from that seen nationally. Northumberland gives fewer direct payments (93 per 100,000) than the England norm (150) and a similar number of part-direct payments. Instead, the council relies heavily on managed personal budgets (154 per 100,000, more than double the national rate) and on services delivered to the cared-for person, such as respite breaks (168 per 100,000 versus 70 nationally). Information and advice activity is also high at 469 per 100,000 compared with 339 across England.
This mix may reflect the rural context. Managing a budget on behalf of the carer can be simpler when local markets for paid care are thin, and respite delivered to the cared-for person may be easier than arranging cover in a remote home. High investment in information services fits the need to guide people through a complex, scattered provider landscape.
The UT1 measure records only one case in 2025, equal to 0.31 per 100,000 residents, below the national rate of 0.75. Although the number is too small for firm conclusions, it indicates that serious incidents involving carers are rare.
Northumberland relies heavily on a large, mainly rural workforce of unpaid carers. Most feel informed and connected, yet they shoulder a high share of responsibility. Service planners may wish to:
• continue strong information and advice work;
• ensure managed budgets and respite remain flexible enough for remote areas;
• monitor direct payment use so that carers who prefer full control are not deterred by distance or market limits.
Keeping carers engaged and supported will remain essential as the population grows slowly and ages in scattered communities.
✨ ✅ ❌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.
?
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.
?
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
Northumberland has 49 community-based adult social care services and 92 residential services. The county’s population in 2023 was about 327,000, spread thinly across a large rural area. This gives roughly 15 community services and 28 residential services per 100,000 people. Nationally the average is about 17 community and 24 residential services per 100,000. In other words, Northumberland offers slightly fewer community providers but a higher supply of residential places once population size is considered.
The low population density—64 residents per km2 compared with 2,469 in England—helps explain this mix. Small villages and long travel times make it harder to run frequent home-care visits, so councils and families may turn to residential homes more often. Maintaining or growing community services will need creative solutions such as mobile teams or digital monitoring to limit travel costs.
Only 13.5% of providers are rated “requires improvement” or “inadequate”, better than the England figure of 16.8%. Despite the county’s scattered settlements and mixed deprivation, most services meet expected standards. This suggests that current regulation and local support are effective, yet the large spread in deprivation scores hints at pockets where quality could still slip without close oversight.
Staff turnover in the North East region stands at 24.3%, almost identical to the national average. However, 70.5% of North East employers say keeping staff has become “more” or “much more” challenging, slightly above the England figure of 68.1%. Even more striking, 82.5% report growing difficulty in recruiting, compared with 79.8% nationally.
The vacancy rate in Northumberland is 5.6%, well below the national 8.4%. A low vacancy rate may look positive, yet it can hide hidden strain: managers may be holding posts open for shorter periods or asking existing staff to work extra hours. For a rural authority, long commutes, limited public transport and high housing costs in tourist areas can deter new workers, explaining why employers still feel recruitment is tough.
The county’s population has risen by about 9,000 since 2019. Rural areas usually age faster than urban ones, so demand for adult social care is likely to grow more quickly than the headline figure suggests. If more older people wish to remain at home, the present shortfall in community providers could become pressing.
Northumberland already delivers above-average quality with a balanced mix of providers. To keep pace with rising, scattered demand, commissioners may need to:
• Expand community and home-care capacity, perhaps by supporting small local agencies and using technology.
• Offer travel allowances, flexible shifts or key-worker housing to make rural jobs attractive and ease recruitment fears.
• Target quality support at deprived hotspots, where the risk of service failure is highest.
• Monitor workforce data closely; a low vacancy rate should not mask hidden overtime or burnout.
Maintaining current strengths while tackling these rural challenges will help ensure Northumberland’s residents continue to receive safe, timely and locally accessible care.
✨ ✅ ❌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
[1] "No data available for this local authority"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.
The Care Quality Commission gives Northumberland a score of 70 for 2024/25, comfortably above the England average of 64.7. This places the authority in the “Good” band and signals steady progress in the overall quality of adult social care.
Safe and timely discharge is a key pressure point for most areas, yet Northumberland performs strongly. More than 99 % of local people leave hospital from trusts judged acceptable by the council, compared with 89 % nationally. Only 5.5 % of discharges are delayed, less than half the England figure of 12.3 %. When a delay does occur, the average wait is 0.42 days, again well below the national 0.7 days. These results matter because delayed discharge often leads to poorer outcomes for older or frail residents and blocks scarce acute beds. The figures suggest that care teams, community services and transport links are working together effectively despite the county’s size and rural character.
Satisfaction with care and support stands at 69.3 %, around five points higher than the national average of 64.7 %. Although an alternative NatCen source reports 57 % dissatisfaction, this lower number still implies that over four in ten respondents are content, a result that compares favourably with many rural counties. The mixed picture may reflect rising expectations in a population that is both growing (from 318,027 in 2019 to 327,055 in 2023) and ageing. Importantly, few residents escalate concerns to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman: 3.06 complaints per 100,000 people were received and decided in 2024, versus 4.45 and 4.12 respectively across England. Limited complaint volumes point to problems being resolved locally, but they may also show lack of awareness among isolated rural households, so the council should continue to promote clear routes for feedback.
Population density is only 63.9 residents per km², compared with 2,468.5 for England. Delivering home‐based care over long distances can raise costs and risk workforce shortages, making the strong discharge and satisfaction data notable. Deprivation is moderate: the mean Index of Multiple Deprivation decile is 5.4, slightly more advantaged than the national 5.9, but with greater variation between communities (standard deviation 2.87 vs 2.3). Pockets of need in former mining or coastal areas sit alongside affluent market towns. Lower deprivation may reduce demand for publicly funded care, freeing resources for quality improvement, yet the spread of need means a single model will not fit all places.
The positive discharge metrics and high satisfaction likely reinforce each other; speedy, well‐planned transitions from hospital can build trust in care services. A growing population could start to strain this balance, particularly if the over-85 group rises faster than working-age residents. Northumberland’s wide rural area creates recruitment challenges, and low complaint rates could mask unmet need in remote villages. Continuous monitoring, the use of digital care planning, and flexible travel allowances for staff may be needed to sustain present gains.
The data suggest that current improvement plans are effective, but future performance will rely on securing sufficient workforce, maintaining strong links with acute trusts, and capturing the views of people who rarely speak up. Investing in community transport, telecare, and targeted support for high-need deprived wards can help the county keep its “Good” status while its population grows.
✨ ✅ ❌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.
✨ ✅ ❌?
In 2024 Northumberland spent about £172 million on adult social care. This works out at roughly £526 for every resident. The England mean is close to £478 per person, so the county pays around 10 % more than the typical council.
After taking client and NHS income into account, the net cost to the council falls to about £136 million, or £416 per head. Client contributions cover around £36 million (£110 per head), a figure that is 50 % above the national rate of £73. NHS partners add a further £26 million (£79 per head), almost exactly in line with the England mean.
The high level of client income hints at one or both of the following: there may be more people receiving means-tested, chargeable support, or local charging policies may recover a larger share of each care package. Either way, residents are shouldering a relatively big part of the cost.
The fact that NHS income is average while total spending is high means the council, rather than the health sector, is paying most of the extra amount. This may limit the scope for future savings unless joint commissioning becomes more ambitious.
Northumberland is very rural (80 % of land classed as rural) and has only 64 people per square kilometre, far below the England density of 2,469. Care workers therefore travel long distances and spend more time between visits. These extra hours show up as higher unit costs, so a larger budget does not automatically mean more care hours delivered.
Population has risen from 318,000 in 2019 to 327,000 in 2023, an increase of 3 %. Rural areas often see a faster growth in older age groups; if that pattern holds here, the pool of people needing help with daily living tasks, home care or residential care is expanding faster than the overall headcount.
Deprivation is mixed. The mean deprivation decile is 5.4, a little worse than the England figure of 5.9, and the spread of scores is wide. Pockets of low income sit beside relatively affluent communities, making it hard to design a single charging or prevention offer that feels fair across the county.
The council is already spending more than most, yet demand pressures linked to an ageing, scattered population are likely to keep rising. Unless additional external income can be found, the authority may have to choose between stricter eligibility rules, higher client charges, or further efficiency drives (for example, technology-enabled care or block contracts that reduce travel time).
At the same time, the above-average reliance on client contributions risks placing financial strain on families, especially in less affluent wards. A review of the charging policy, combined with closer working with the local NHS on reablement and intermediate care, could spread costs more evenly while still containing the council’s net spend.
Northumberland allocates a high level of resources to adult social care, reflecting the logistical realities of serving a large, rural area and a likely older age profile. Most of the extra funding comes from the council budget and from residents themselves rather than from the NHS. Sustaining this position will require innovative service models and careful attention to the financial impact on service users.
✨ ✅ ❌