Measuring Digital Inclusion as Social Value in Adult Social Care

Digital inclusion is now a practical social value issue because many everyday services rely on online access. Providers working within the Social Value Knowledge Hub need to show how adult social care support helps people use digital systems safely, confidently and fairly.

Strong providers use social value measurement and reporting to evidence digital access outcomes, while linking this work to social value policy and national priorities such as reducing inequality, inclusion, prevention, wellbeing and fair access to public value.

Digital inclusion should not be measured by whether someone owns a phone or tablet. Strong evidence shows whether digital support improves access, confidence, independence and outcomes.

What Digital Inclusion Means

Digital inclusion means supporting people to access, understand and use digital tools where these are needed for everyday life. In adult social care, this may include online GP systems, housing portals, benefits accounts, video appointments, email correspondence, banking safeguards, community information, transport apps or communication with family.

The social value comes from reducing exclusion. When digital systems become the default, people without support can miss appointments, lose contact with services, misunderstand correspondence or become more dependent on crisis routes.

Why It Matters in Real Services

Digital exclusion often appears indirectly. A person may miss online appointment letters, ignore text reminders, struggle with verification codes, avoid benefits updates or become anxious when asked to complete forms online.

If providers do not recognise these barriers, people may experience poorer access, financial stress, health inequality and reduced independence. Strong services evidence how they support safe digital participation without taking control away from the person.

What Good Looks Like

Strong services evidence digital inclusion through barrier identification, consent-based support, safe practice, confidence building, outcome review and governance.

Providers should be able to evidence the digital barrier, the support provided, the safeguards used, the outcome achieved and the person’s experience. This creates a clear line of sight from digital support to social value impact.

Operational Example 1: Supporting Access to Online Health Appointments

Context: A community support provider noticed that one person was missing GP messages because appointment information was sent by text link. The person had a phone but did not understand links, confirmation messages or online forms.

Support approach: The provider added digital appointment support to the care plan, focusing on understanding, consent and confidence rather than simply completing tasks for the person.

Five practical steps:

1. Identify missed appointments, unread messages or confusion linked to digital systems.
2. Check what the person understands and what support they want.
3. Agree consent-based support for reading messages and preparing appointments.
4. Practise safe routines for checking links, reminders and appointment details.
5. Review whether attendance, confidence and health access improve.

Day-to-day delivery detail: Staff supported the person to open messages, identify appointment times and write down questions. They avoided storing passwords or taking over personal accounts.

How effectiveness was evidenced: The provider evidenced improved appointment attendance, reduced anxiety, fewer missed messages and greater confidence using appointment reminders. This demonstrated social value through fairer health access and digital inclusion.

Deepening the Digital Inclusion Evidence Pathway

Digital inclusion evidence is strongest when it shows impact, not just support activity. Providers should avoid claiming digital inclusion because staff help with phones unless records show improved access, confidence or outcomes.

Guidance on measuring social value outcomes in adult social care reinforces the need to connect activity with impact. Digital inclusion evidence strengthens this by showing how support reduces barriers that affect health, housing, finance and community participation.

Operational Example 2: Reducing Financial Exclusion Through Safe Online Support

Context: A supported living provider identified that one person was becoming anxious about online benefits updates and verification requests. Letters were delayed, and online messages were being missed.

Support approach: The provider introduced a safe support routine for checking messages, understanding actions and seeking advice where needed.

Five practical steps:

1. Record missed online updates, payment anxiety or repeated correspondence concerns.
2. Clarify consent, capacity and boundaries around digital financial support.
3. Support the person to understand messages without staff controlling accounts.
4. Use approved advice routes where benefits or debt issues require specialist help.
5. Track whether anxiety, missed actions and crisis contact reduce.

Day-to-day delivery detail: Staff helped the person identify official messages, write down actions and prepare questions for advice appointments. Managers reviewed records to ensure support remained transparent and rights-based.

How effectiveness was evidenced: The provider evidenced fewer missed updates, improved confidence, reduced distress and clearer advice referrals. This showed social value through financial inclusion, safeguarding awareness and digital access.

Systems, Workforce and Consistency

Teams apply digital inclusion well when staff understand both opportunity and risk. Digital support can improve independence, but it can also create safeguarding, privacy and consent risks if handled informally.

Supervision should review digital barriers, consent, password boundaries, online safety and whether support is building confidence. Handovers should include agreed digital support routines where they affect appointments, correspondence or wellbeing. Managers should check that staff do not take over personal decision-making.

This also supports commissioner confidence. Wider explanation of social value in UK public sector commissioning shows why providers need evidence that digital inclusion improves fair access rather than simply adding another task to care delivery.

Operational Example 3: Improving Community Participation Through Digital Access

Context: A day opportunity service found that some people were missing community activities because information was shared online and booking was digital-only.

Support approach: The provider supported people to access community listings, understand booking steps and choose activities without depending entirely on family members.

Five practical steps:

1. Identify whether online-only information is limiting activity choice.
2. Support people to explore digital options in accessible ways.
3. Check consent and payment safety before any online booking support.
4. Record choices, barriers and support needed for participation.
5. Review whether activity choice, confidence and community access improve.

Day-to-day delivery detail: Staff helped people compare activities, understand times and plan transport. They recorded whether digital access increased genuine choice rather than simply increasing attendance.

How effectiveness was evidenced: The provider evidenced wider activity choice, improved participation, reduced reliance on family booking and increased confidence using online community information. This demonstrated social value through inclusion and independence.

Governance and Evidence

Governance gives digital inclusion evidence credibility. Providers should maintain an audit trail showing digital barriers, consent arrangements, support provided, safeguards, outcomes and review decisions.

Data may include improved appointment attendance, fewer missed messages, reduced correspondence anxiety, improved benefits engagement, increased community participation and reduced crisis contact. Qualitative evidence explains confidence, dignity, control, reassurance and independence.

Strong services demonstrate how digital inclusion evidence informs care planning, supervision, staff training, safeguarding review, commissioner reporting and board oversight. This creates a clear line of sight from digital barriers to action and outcome.

Commissioner and CQC Expectations

Commissioners expect providers to evidence how services reduce inequalities and support fair access to public services. Digital inclusion evidence helps show how providers prevent exclusion from systems that increasingly rely on online communication.

CQC expectations focus on safe, effective, responsive and well-led care. Digital inclusion evidence supports this when leaders protect privacy, respect consent, make support accessible and review whether people experience improved access and control.

Common Pitfalls

• Assuming phone ownership means digital inclusion.
• Staff taking over accounts, passwords or decisions without safeguards.
• Recording digital support activity without measuring outcomes.
• Ignoring anxiety, literacy, affordability or confidence barriers.
• Failing to link digital inclusion to health, housing or financial outcomes.
• Leaving digital support outside supervision and governance review.

Conclusion

Measuring digital inclusion as social value in adult social care means showing how services help people access modern systems safely and fairly. Strong providers demonstrate this through consent-based support, practical safeguards, lived experience, outcome data and governance. When evidence is credible, digital inclusion becomes a powerful social value measure because it shows how adult social care reduces inequality in everyday access to health, housing, finance and community life.

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