'Transparency in outcomes: a framework for quality in adult social care' 2011/12

Alongside outcomes frameworks for the NHS and public health, the government published the first adult social care outcomes framework in 2011.

The aim of the framework was to set a strategic national direction on outcomes that local organisations could use, adapt and integrate with their local priorities.

The government emphasised that the framework should not be used as a performance management tool. Rather, local authorities should use the framework for their own benchmarking and comparison purposes.

The framework set out four domains as below (an example indicator for each domain is included in brackets):

• Enhancing quality of life for people with care and support needs (the proportion of people who use services who have control over their daily life)
• Delaying and reducing the need for care and support through early diagnosis, intervention and prevention (the proportion of older people (65 and over) who were still at home 91 days after discharge from hospital into re-ablement/rehabilitation services)
• Ensuring that people have a positive experience of care and support (the proportion of carers who report that they have been included or consulted in discussions about the person they care for)
• Safeguarding adults whose circumstances make them vulnerable and protecting them from avoidable harm (the proportion of people who use services who say that those services have made them feel safe and secure).

The government committed to an annual review of the outcome measures in conjunction with the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services and the Local Government Group (the Local Government Association had a brief period of being rebranded as the Local Government Group).