SCIE calls for national standards in adult social care

In a report published yesterday (28 Jan), the SCIE sets out a phased approach to developing national standards of care – which proposes starting with a small number of “high-impact touchpoints”, while supporting a shift towards prevention and early intervention and strengthening data and system intelligence.

The charity warned that people with similar needs can face very different experiences depending on where they live - from “timely, personalised support” that enables independence and dignity, to long waiting lists, high eligibility thresholds and “unmet basic needs”.

The SCIE said: “The consequences are serious: people’s safety, independence and wellbeing are put at risk, while unpaid carers are left to absorb growing financial, emotional and physical pressures. These impacts fall hardest on marginalised communities, deepening existing inequalities.”

In January last year, the Government launched the Casey Commission as a first step towards creating a National Care Service, underpinned by national standards of care.

However, the SCIE warned that although this commitment “signals ambition”, there remains “limited clarity” about what national standards should cover, how they should operate in practice, and how they would reduce "today’s postcode lottery".

SCIE’s proposed framework sets out how national standards could define what is “essential and non-negotiable”, while protecting flexibility in how outcomes are achieved locally.

The organisation said: “The emphasis is on standards that specify what good care delivers for people, rather than mandating uniform processes or service models. In this way, national standards could help expose and reduce unjustified variation, strengthen accountability, and support learning and improvement across the system, without stifling innovation or personalisation.”

The report acknowledged that national standards alone cannot fix the “deep-rooted” challenges facing social care - including workforce shortages and financial pressures.

The SCIE said: “Yet, they can play an important role in setting system-wide expectations and shaping how statutory duties are interpreted by different actors and prioritised.

“This includes reducing unwarranted variation by clarifying what people should be able to expect regardless of postcode, provider or funding route, while deliberately protecting flexibility in how outcomes are achieved locally.”

The report warned that the success of national standards also depends on the conditions under which they are implemented.

It said: “The current care sector limitations extend to workforce skills, capability and leadership; commissioning capability and market shaping aligned to outcomes; co-production infrastructure that treats lived experience as a default system behaviour; and improved data and digital foundations.”

The SCIE highlighted that without deliberate action to strengthen these enabling conditions, national standards risk either “remaining aspirational” or “defaulting to narrow compliance processes”.

Kathryn Marsden, Chief Executive of SCIE, said: “It is indefensible that, in this country, two people with the same social care needs, living only a few miles apart, can experience completely different levels of support. That postcode lottery undermines people’s dignity, independence and safety, and it places intolerable pressure on families and unpaid carers who are left to fill the gaps.

“National standards of care offer a practical way to close that gap – not by imposing a one-size-fits-all model, but by making clear what people should be able to expect from the system wherever they live. Done well, they can translate long-standing values in social care into clearer, outcomes-focused expectations that are rooted in lived experience and backed by accountability.

“But we also need to be honest about the context. Social care operates in a complex, resource-constrained system, shaped by workforce shortages, financial pressures and shifting political priorities. Poorly designed standards risk becoming symbolic, compliance-driven or disconnected from reality. This is not about quick fixes. Ending the postcode lottery will require sustained commitment, careful implementation and a focus on learning and improvement – not just ambition on paper.”

She added: “As the Casey Commission builds momentum towards its final report in 2028, this is the moment to get the foundations right – starting with clarity about what good care should deliver, and how we reduce variation in people’s experiences without losing what makes care personal and local.”

The Department for Health and Social Care has been approached for comment.

Lottie Winson