The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has published its latest Adult Social Care Provider Statistics for England, covering data up to February 2026. These official statistics provide valuable insight into the current state of the adult social care sector, including care home occupancy, domiciliary care activity, workforce trends, vaccination rates, visiting arrangements, and the uptake of digital social care records.

For providers, these figures offer an important snapshot of how the sector is performing and where operational, workforce and digital priorities may be evolving.

At HLTH Compliance, we closely monitor these developments to help providers understand what the data means in practice and how it may influence regulatory expectations, workforce planning and service delivery.

Care Home Occupancy Remains Stable

The data shows that 85.8% of care home beds were occupied in the week ending 16 February 2026, indicating a largely stable occupancy rate over the past year.

Across England:

• 10.8% of beds were vacant but available for admission

• 3.4% were vacant but not currently available

Occupancy rates vary regionally. For example:

• London recorded the highest occupancy at 89.6%

• The East Midlands recorded the lowest at 82.4%

While overall occupancy remains relatively steady, regional variation highlights how local market dynamics continue to influence demand for residential care services.

Over Half a Million People Receiving Domiciliary Care

The statistics show the significant scale of home-based care provision in England.

As of mid-February 2026:

• 360,507 people were living in care homes

• 505,886 people were receiving CQC-regulated domiciliary care

This reinforces the ongoing shift towards community-based support, with increasing numbers of individuals receiving care in their own homes rather than residential settings.

For many providers, this reflects wider system priorities focused on independence, prevention and supporting people to remain at home for longer.

Visiting in Care Homes Remains Fully Restored

Encouragingly, 99.3% of care homes in England were able to accommodate visits from family and friends as of February 2026.

This figure has remained stable since September 2022, reflecting the sector’s continued recovery from the restrictions experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Maintaining access to visitors is widely recognised as an important factor in supporting residents’ wellbeing, mental health and family engagement in care planning.

COVID-19 Workforce Absence Now Extremely Low

The data shows that staff absence due to COVID-19 remains minimal across the sector.

In February 2026:

• 0.1% of care home staff were absent due to COVID-related reasons

• 0.1% of domiciliary care staff were absent

This represents a significant improvement compared to earlier stages of the pandemic and suggests that COVID-related workforce disruption has largely stabilised across adult social care services.

Flu Vaccination Uptake Shows Mixed Picture

Flu vaccination coverage varies significantly between residents and staff.

Among care home providers reporting data:

• 66.7% of older adult care home residents received a flu vaccine

• 54.5% of younger adult care home residents received a flu vaccine

However, vaccination rates among staff remain considerably lower:

• 11.3% of older adult care home staff

• 9.1% of younger adult care home staff

• 14.6% of domiciliary care staff

These figures may highlight opportunities for providers to strengthen workforce health initiatives and vaccination awareness programmes.

Digital Social Care Records Continue to Expand

One of the most significant developments highlighted in the statistics is the continued growth in digital social care records (DSCRs).

As of December 2025:

• 82% of adult social care provider locations now have a digital social care record, up from 75.6% in December 2024

• 91.3% of people receiving care are estimated to have a digital care record

A further 9.6% of providers are currently implementing digital systems.

Digital records are becoming increasingly important for:

• Care coordination

• Information sharing with health services

• Governance and auditing

• Improving the quality and continuity of care

The move towards digital systems also aligns with wider NHS and social care digital transformation priorities.

What These Statistics Mean for Providers

These figures provide useful insights into several key themes affecting adult social care services:

• Continued strong demand for domiciliary care services

• Stable but regionally varied care home occupancy

• Increasing digital transformation within care services

• Ongoing opportunities to strengthen workforce health initiatives

• A sector that has largely stabilised following pandemic disruption

Understanding how these trends affect individual services is important for strategic planning, workforce development and regulatory readiness.

How HLTH Compliance Can Support Your Organisation

At HLTH Compliance, we support health and social care providers across England to understand how sector trends, regulatory updates and national statistics may affect their services.

Our team can help providers:

• Interpret sector statistics and policy changes

• Strengthen governance, quality monitoring and compliance systems

• Implement digital care record solutions

• Prepare for CQC inspections and regulatory changes

• Develop workforce and service strategies aligned with sector trends

Understanding the wider picture of adult social care helps providers ensure they are well positioned to deliver safe, effective and sustainable services.

If your organisation would like support understanding how these latest statistics may impact your service or compliance requirements, the HLTH Compliance team would be happy to help.