Appendix L: Key dates, changes and summary sample fieldwork schedule

Below is a summary of the key dates for the 2023-24 SACE.

• eligible population can be extracted any time between 1 July and 30 September 2023
• additional question requests need to be submitted to NHS England by Friday 8 September 2023
• fieldwork period is 1 October to 30 November 2023
• SACE data return to be submitted to NHS England by 29 February 2024
• data quality reports to be sent out by 13 March 2024
• final deadline 3 April 2024

Below is a summary of the changes made to the 2023-24 materials Please ensure you use the materials on the 2023-24 guidance page. 

New question on loneliness added.
COVID-19 questions removed.

A question on loneliness has been added as question 16 and subsequent questions renumbered.

A free text box has been added as question 10b.

Slight change to end of questionnaire to encourage email option for sending out the report.

COVID-19 questions in section 7 removed.

The survey has been reclassified so approval from the Social Care Research and Ethics Board is not required every year. The line of who has reviewed the study has been removed from the cover letters.

An extra line has been added in the ‘What happens to my answers” section to explain answers are linked with some demographic details using a unique code.

The additional question form is now in Excel. All questions need to be submitted on one form. Additional responses for questions 5 and 6 should also be sent to NHS England for information purposes. The additional responses for questions 5 and 6 do not count towards the maximum of 6 additional questions or free text boxes.

What to do if a carer cares for more than one person 

If a carer is caring for more than one person aged 18 or over, you may need to use local information to determine who the main person cared-for is and to populate relevant data items (for example primary support reason). If you are unable to identify this information, then you will have to select 'Unknown' for categories relating to the cared-for person on the data return

Do we need to fill in an additional question form for to use questions from the question bank or ones we have used before

all proposed additional questions need to be submitted for review and approval to NHS England, irrespective of whether these questions have been used before.

Coding contradictory answers

If two or more boxes are ticked for a question in which only one box should be ticked, then the response must be recorded as “Unknown” (-9). If a respondent has chosen conflicting answers for a question that asks them to “tick all that apply” or for two different questions, the responses must be recorded as reported.

Paper copies 

Sending out paper copies of the report to service users

Carers should have the option to request a paper copy of either the national or a local report. Councils can choose whether they want to send out the national or a local report.

Keeping paper copies of the questionnaire 

Councils must retain paper copies of the questionnaires until the publication of the final 2023-24 SACE report. After this point you are free to securely dispose of paper copies, although you may wish to hold on to them for longer if you believe for example, that participants are likely to take part in any follow up studies. The treatment of paper and scanned copies must be in line with your local Information Governance procedures and meet the requirements of the GDPR.

Making changes to the questionnaire to reduce white spaces

Councils need to customise the materials by amending the sections identified with red text and yellow highlighting. Any other changes need prior approval by NHS England. The questionnaire section of the guidance highlights the changes that are not permitted, these include changing the wording of questions, change the font or removing white space.

Accepting the questionnaires (dates)

Although the fieldwork should be completed by 30 November 2023, councils can decide how long they will continue to accept the returned surveys for after the fieldwork period has ended. This will not affect the mandated deadline. Councils should note how many surveys were accepted after the fieldwork period ended in their data return.