Supporting the front line to deliver better services

Social care performs a vital function in helping vulnerable people live independent, fulfilling lives. Successful delivery can be supported by high quality information.

We've got publications covering many aspects of social care, and also a wealth of information on public health, primary care and acute care that can all help you make decisions on how to provide the best possible services.

But we know that more can be done. At The NHS Information Centre we want to play a leading role in making sure that social care information is effective, timely and relevant. Through our social care programme, we are developing improved social care information services that will meet frontline needs.

We want to promote the value of using social care information, whether in improving services at local level, or in making central policy decisions. We also believe that more can be done to encourage and develop the sharing of information between health and social care, so that service users receive seamless services, as they pass from one part of the system to the other.

We are working to develop the information that can help health and social care providers to deliver this vision.

The IC's remit largely covers social care services for adults. The exceptions to this are the collections on expenditure and staffing for personal social services which contain information on both children and adults. Responsibility for information on children's services is held by the Department for Children, Schools and Families.