UK domiciliary care statistics 2025

Given the UK’s aging population, pressure on NHS services, and shortage of hospital beds, it’s no wonder so many people rely on domiciliary care services.

The latest outlook shows a system under strain. In 2024, the Homecare Association reported almost half (48%) of home care providers can't meet the current demand for their services.

In addition, home care providers are struggling to recruit. 84% cited recruitment difficulties as the main reason they couldn’t meet the higher demand.

This paints an intriguing picture of the domiciliary care industry at a time when demand for their services is only projected to increase. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the UK's over-65 population is set to rise from 19% to 27% in the next 50 years. Yet, there seems to be a lack of interest from UK residents in pursuing a career in home care.

The latest domiciliary care statistics for the UK might help show why this is happening. We’ve focused on employment figures as well as the challenges the industry is facing as a whole.

All figures quoted are the most up to date at the time of publishing.

The UK domiciliary care market at a glance

• The UK has around 12,500 domiciliary care providers (over 11,000 are registered in England).
• In 2024, the UK home care and domiciliary care industry was worth around £11.5 billion – up by around 12% since 2020.
• Nearly 1 million people are estimated to receive publicly-funded domiciliary care across the UK. Roughly 640,000 of them live in England.
• The UK’s domiciliary care industry employs an estimated 809,000 people in total.
• Local authorities in England spend an average of £71 per adult on home care. This rises to £151 in Wales and £250 in Scotland.
• Domiciliary care job vacancies in England are at 13%, over four times the average for all jobs in the UK.

What’s the size of the UK domiciliary care market?

A 2024 report found that adult social care (which includes home care) contributes £68.1 billion to the economy in England – up by 13.2% since 2022/23.

That means the domiciliary care industry (and the adult social care sector as a whole) contributes more to the economy than sectors like accommodation and food services.

However, because statistics are gathered by nation, the exact size of the UK domiciliary care market is hard to gauge.

The following domiciliary care statistics should be treated as an estimate. You can find more info on each nation’s home care regulatory body’s website.

How many people use domiciliary care in the UK?

It’s thought around 820,000 people receive domiciliary care in the UK. These include patients who are ill, elderly, have long-term medical issues, or have been discharged from hospital care.

While most people access domiciliary care through their local authority, almost a quarter (23.5%) pay for it themselves.

The number of Care Quality Commission-registered (CQC) domiciliary care services in England has continued to grow from 8,414 in 2017 to 13,733 in 2024 – an increase of 63%. By contrast, CQC care homes with nursing decreased by 5% in the same period (and by 11% for those without nursing).

While many patients find domiciliary care to be a convenient option, many apply for it because either they – or their families – can’t afford the cost of living in a care home. Other social factors include long waiting lists for community care and the pressing need to free up NHS hospital beds.

This tallies up with research by the Homecare Association, which found that 85% of home care agencies say the people they support found it harder to access healthcare in 2023 than in previous years.

The Homecare Association highlighted long-term support living, or assisted living, as an area of growth in 2024. With around 100,000 now people receiving this kind of care, funded by local authorities in England.

Live-in care is also increasingly sought after, with 10,000 people needing it.

How many home care agencies are there in the UK?

There are around 12,500 domiciliary care providers registered in the UK. This includes home care agencies that are contracted directly by local authorities, as well as independent providers.

Different types of domiciliary care providers include those who specialise in ‘hourly’ or ‘visiting’ home care, supported living, assisted living, or live-in care.

Each provides domiciliary care under their country’s regulatory body, eg the CQC in England or Care Inspectorate (CI) in Scotland.

How many domiciliary care workers are there in the UK?

Around 690,000 people make up the UK’s domiciliary care workforce. Here's a rough breakdown:

What's recruitment like in the domiciliary care industry?

Unsurprisingly, the domiciliary care industry saw job vacancy rates rise significantly at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, since 2021, vacancy rates have steadily fallen. In 2022, they were at 12.9% and have continued to reduce to 11.9% in 2024.

The industry’s employment turnover rate has also seen a big drop in 2024, falling from 31.1% to 25.3%. That’s the biggest fall since Skills for Care started tracking it in 2017.

This reduced turnover rate means that far less people have left their roles in domiciliary care over the past 12 months. In 2024, an estimated 131,000 workers left their role. This is much lower than the reported 390,000 in 2022.

It’s not all good news, though. As we mentioned, 84% of home care providers still cite recruitment difficulties as the main reason why they can’t meet the higher demand for their services.

The nationality of workers recruited into the industry has continued to progress as forecasted as well, with the proportion of British workers falling from 78% to 70% in 2024. This coincides with an increase of non-EU workers from 16% to 25% this year, showing that the industry is increasingly looking to foreign recruits to fill vacancies.

What are the biggest challenges for the home care industry?

Thanks to the increasing strain on NHS services and the UK’s aging population, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) predicts that 57% more adults aged 65 and over will need home care in 2038 compared to 2018.

While this means the UK domiciliary care industry can expect healthy demand in the future, it’ll need to overcome the shortfalls in long-term public funding and recruitment that have hampered its growth.

Delays clog up the system in the meantime. In August 2024, around 400,000 people were awaiting assessment, review, or the start of a care service.

Hospital discharges and assessments continue to be the biggest source of this backlog. 45% of adult social services directors reported that demands for their services in this area have increased by more than 10% in 2024.

Another problem is that people leaving hospital need more complex care than before the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, 56% of domiciliary care providers agree that more complex tasks are now being commissioned by the NHS.

Upper management recognise the scale of the problem. 51% of adult social services directors aren’t confident they can meet their legal duties as a provider moving into 2025, due to inadequate budgets.

Caring for your own

When you’re in the business of caring for others, it’s only right to think about caring for your business too.

Legally, regulatory bodies like the CQC insist that all home care agencies who register with them have domiciliary care insurance.

Besides that, having the right insurance puts your mind at ease. Our domiciliary care package provides cover for accusations of negligence and third-party accidental damage and, if you’re found at fault, will compensate your employees if they get sick or injured.

As an agency supervisor or director, your own work is covered too, including the advice you give to your staff.

For info or advice on domiciliary care insurance, just call our team on 0345 222 5391.

Image used under license from iStock.