Why a care at home franchise?

People need extra care and support in their homes for a variety of reasons, such as old age, physical disability, dementia or sensory impairment. Moving out of their home to receive care is a big step, and many prefer to remain where they feel most comfortable – in their own home, in their own surroundings, with all their own things, as the Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt said at the Caremark National Conference 2021 recently to the 110 franchised business owners: “It’s much more humane to stay at home, it’s what all of us want for ourselves and our loved ones.”

Most up-to-date statistics on the UK’s adult social health care sector, including:
• The number of people receiving home care
• The number of home care providers/agencies
• The number of care workers providing domiciliary care

How many home care providers are there in the UK?
There are just over 10,100 home care providers in the UK which are registered and regulated by their country’s regulatory body, such as the CQC in England and due to demand, this is expanding all the time.
• England: 8,891
• Wales: 381
• Scotland: 759
• Northern Ireland: 72
UK total: 10,113

*Figures correct as of Monday, 19 April 2021. Data gathered from homecare.co.uk lists all home care providers registered with their country’s regulatory body.

How many people receive home care in the UK?
The number of people receiving domiciliary care in the UK is more than 950,000*.
• England: 814,000 (2020) – source: National Audit Office
• Wales: 28,596 (2018/19) – source: StatsWales
• Scotland: 91,810 (2019/20) – source: Public Health Scotland
• Northern Ireland: 23,425 (2019/20) – source: Department of Health
UK total: 957,831

*There is no UK-wide dataset as each country is responsible for its own data collection. This means there are discrepancies in the ways data is collected and reported. The above figures should be viewed as estimates.

How many people work in home care?
The UK domiciliary care workforce totals nearly 823,000*.
• England: 715,000 (2019/20) – source: Skills for Care
• Wales: 21,421 (2018) – source: Social Care Wales
• Scotland: 71,340 (2019) – source: Scottish Social Services Council
• Northern Ireland: 15,200 (2018) – source: Skills for Care
UK total: 822,961

*There is no UK-wide dataset as each country is responsible for its own data collection. This means there are discrepancies in the ways data is collected and reported. The above figures should be viewed as estimates.

UK home care forecast
In the years to come, the demand for adult social care is projected to increase significantly, largely due to the UK’s ageing population.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) predicts that 57 per cent more adults aged 65 and over in England will require care in 2038 compared to 2018. The percentage increase projected for adults aged between 18 and 64 over the same period is 29 per cent, according to a report published by the National Audit Office (NAO).

Commenting on this growth, the Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt also told Caremark franchise owners earlier this year: “You are in the middle of one of the biggest trend lines in terms of the way society is changing; because of the way our population is growing older.”

Caremark is a full member of the British Franchise Association and is the biggest wholly UK-owned and run domiciliary care franchisor, with a demonstrable history of franchise success in the sector dating back to 2005.