The Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework (ASCOF) measures how well care and support services achieve the outcomes that matter most to people. The measures are grouped into four domains which are typically reviewed in terms of movement over time. These domains are:

• enhancing quality of life for people with care and support needs
• delaying and reducing the need for care and support
• ensuring that people have a positive experience of care and support
• safeguarding adults whose circumstances make them vulnerable and protecting from avoidable harm

The ASCOF aims to give an indication of the strengths and weaknesses of social care in delivering better outcomes for people who use services. This report will be of interest to:

• central government - for policy development and monitoring, and for parliamentary questions and Prime Minister's Questions
• Councils with Adult Social Services Responsibilities (CASSRs) - for measuring local performance and for benchmarking against other CASSRs
• charities
• academics
• the general public.