Personal Social Services: Survey of Adult Carers in England (SACE) - information and guidance for the 2023 - 2024 survey year

This guidance sets out the information for conducting the Personal Social Services Survey of Adult Carers in England (SACE). All Councils with Adult Social Services Responsibilities (CASSRs) with an eligible population of at least 150 carers, are required to carry out this biennial survey. SACE exists in a national policy context in which increasing consideration has been given to the role of carers, see Appendix A, and asks carers about their quality of life, the impact of services on their quality of life, and their general health and well-being.

The data collected are sent to NHS England and are used as the basis of analyses that are included in national level Official Statistics reports. Data are also used to populate several measures in the Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework (ASCOF); see Appendix B for further details. These data will be used to inform and support policy and decision making at both the local and national level; to improve care, services and outcomes for local populations; and to help carers make better choices about their support.

The survey was developed in conjunction with the Social Services User Survey Group (SSUSG). For more information see Appendix C.

If you are conducting the survey, then you must read the main body of this document in full before commencing work. More general information about the survey is included in the appendices.

It is vital that councils adhere to this guidance as closely as possible to ensure that the survey results from different CASSRs and regions are genuinely comparable. Also, the research design and materials have been approved by the Social Care Research Ethics Committee (SCREC) and any deviation may lead councils to fall outside its remit.

For the avoidance of doubt, it is confirmed that the national data opt-out will not apply to the 2023 Survey of Adult Carers in England. Further work is underway with local authorities to support the implementation of national data opt-out across health and care. Further information and updates are provided.

You may believe that you are faced with exceptional circumstances which makes it necessary to deviate from this guidance, for example if questionnaires cannot be distributed and returned in the given fieldwork period. In such instances NHS England must be contacted and advice/approval sought before any action can be taken.

If NHS England believes that councils have changed materials or practices in a manner which has compromised the robustness or comparability of the survey results, then it may be necessary to note these incidences in the Data Quality section of the survey report. This will enable anyone who uses the data to understand its strengths and weaknesses and to assess its usefulness for themselves.

Contact us  

If you have any comments or suggestions for improvements, or if you are unclear about what to do then please contact us.

You can reach the adult social care user survey team at NHS England by emailing [email protected] or by calling the NHS England contact centre on 0300 303 5678. The preferred method of initial contact is via email.