Adult Social Care Series 1 — Article 3 of 4

VCSE Commissioning Analytics Series — Article 3 of 18 | Adult Social Care Series 1 — Article 3 of 4

What Is Client Level Data and How Did It Replace SALT? | Adult Social Care Series 1 — Article 3 of 4

Care Act reporting for VCSEs is the process of collecting, structuring, and submitting individual service user-level data that demonstrates compliance with the statutory requirements of the Care Act 2014 and contributes to the local authority mandated adult social care data returns. In 2025 to 2026, this obligation became significantly more technical following the national transition from the aggregated SALT data collection to Client Level Data — a fundamentally different approach that collects individual event records rather than aggregate counts.

Client Level Data (CLD) is the mandated data collection introduced by DHSC that replaced the aggregated SALT (Short and Long Term) collection as the primary source of adult social care activity data for England. Where SALT collected year-end aggregate counts — how many people received a service, in broad categories — CLD collects individual records for every adult who receives or requests social care support, recording their pathway through the system from first contact to closure.

CLD event records capture: the date and type of request or referral; the assessment outcome; the type of care and support provided; the start and end dates of each episode; the reason for closure or change; and demographic information including age, gender, ethnicity, and primary support reason. These individual records are then used by DHSC and NHS England to calculate ASCOF metrics centrally, replacing the process by which local authorities previously calculated these figures from their own aggregated data.

The implications for VCSEs are significant. Local authorities need individual-level data from their commissioned service providers to populate CLD accurately. A VCSE that provides aggregate monthly returns saying “we supported 45 people this quarter” is no longer producing the granularity that feeds a complete CLD return.

What Care Act Obligations Flow to VCSEs Through Commissioning?

The Care Act 2014 places statutory duties on local authorities, not VCSEs directly. But those duties flow through commissioning contracts in a specific way. Under the Care Act, local authorities have a duty to promote wellbeing, prevent or delay the need for care and support, and meet eligible care and support needs. When they commission VCSEs to deliver services that fulfil these duties, the contracts include performance and reporting requirements that operationalise those statutory obligations.

In practice this means VCSEs delivering services under Care Act-related contracts are required to report on: numbers of people supported by support type; referral sources and pathways; assessment outcomes and eligibility decisions where relevant; care and support plan review completion; and outcomes at closure. All of this needs to be at individual record level to be usable in the local authority CLD return.

How to Connect VCSE Systems to Local Authority CLD Requirements

Most VCSEs do not use the same case management systems as their commissioning local authority. Local authorities typically use systems such as Mosaic, Liquidlogic, or Capita One. VCSEs use Charitylog, Lamplight, SystmOne, or bespoke Excel-based trackers. This creates a data translation problem: the VCSE holds the service delivery data, but in a format and structure that does not automatically map to the local authority CLD submission fields.

The solution has three components. First, data collection discipline — ensuring that at point of referral, every required CLD field is captured in the VCSE system: date of referral, referral source, service user demographics, primary support reason using the nationally agreed category list, and episode start date. Second, data transformation — mapping the VCSE data fields to the CLD schema, translating local category names to the nationally standardised equivalents, and calculating derived fields such as episode length and outcome category. Third, automated reporting — producing a regular extract in the format agreed with the commissioning local authority.

Quematics builds this VCSE commissioning analytics infrastructure for VCSEs using Power BI and automated data pipelines, connecting to existing case management systems and producing CLD-compatible outputs without requiring frontline staff to change their workflows.

The New Adult Social Care Waiting Times Metrics

The government introduced two new metrics for 2026 to 2027 specifically: adult social care waiting times, defined as the time from request or referral to start of support. For VCSEs involved in access, assessment, or initial support pathways — including carers services, social prescribing, and community mental health — these waiting time metrics directly apply to their commissioned activity.

Being able to demonstrate response times from referral to first contact and from assessment to support commencement is now a reporting requirement, not an optional quality indicator. VCSEs need timestamped records of every stage in the referral-to-support pathway to produce waiting time data in a format that feeds local authority CLD submissions accurately.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Client Level Data (CLD) in adult social care?

Client Level Data is the mandated individual-record data collection that replaced the SALT aggregate collection as England primary source of adult social care activity data. It requires a record for every adult who receives or requests social care, capturing their pathway from referral through to closure at individual level.

Are VCSEs required to submit CLD directly?

VCSEs do not submit CLD directly to DHSC — local authorities are the submitting organisation. However, VCSEs are expected to provide individual-level data to their commissioning local authority in a format compatible with CLD, so the authority can include their commissioned service delivery in its statutory return.

What data fields does CLD require that affect VCSE reporting?

CLD-relevant fields that VCSEs need to capture include referral date and source, service user demographics, primary support reason using the national category list, episode start and end dates, service type, and outcome at closure — all at individual record level.

What are the new adult social care waiting time metrics?

The government introduced two new waiting time metrics for 2026 to 2027, derived from CLD: the time from request or referral to start of support, particularly for people with complex needs. VCSEs in access and early intervention pathways need timestamped records of every stage from referral to support commencement.

How does Quematics connect VCSE systems to CLD requirements?

Quematics builds data pipelines that connect VCSE case management systems including Charitylog, Lamplight, and Excel trackers to a Power BI analytics layer that maps VCSE data fields to CLD schema definitions and produces automated outputs in the format agreed with the commissioning local authority.

To discuss how Quematics can build CLD-compatible adult social care reporting infrastructure for your VCSE, visit our data analytics for charities page or contact us for a free 30-minute data review.