Cardiff Council has published its latest Social Services Annual Report (2025/26), showcasing “significant progress” in supporting children, families and adults across the city, with improvements in service delivery, innovation and outcomes despite rising demand and complexity.
The report highlights a number of key achievements across both Children's and Adult Services.
Children's Services has seen major developments over the past year, with a clear focus on early intervention, stability and improved outcomes for young people, the council said.
A key milestone has been the introduction of new front door arrangements through the Family Advice, Support and Protection Hub (FASPH), helping ensure families receive the right support at the right time.
The council has also expanded its provision for children by:
- Developing new council-owned residential homes and strengthening local accommodation options
- Supporting foster carers through adaptations and extensions to increase placement capacity and stability
- Reducing the number of children with disabilities in residential care through improved support at home
There has been a strong focus on innovation and support for families, including the development of a Parent Café peer support model, empowering parents to support one another and build community networks.
Children and young people have played an active role in shaping services, including co-designing residential provision and influencing key initiatives through participation programmes.
Adult Services has delivered strong progress, with a continued emphasis on prevention, independence and high-quality care.
Highlights include:
- A significant increase in service user satisfaction, rising to 86% (up from 71% the previous year)
- 93% of eligible carers offered assessments, with strengthened support through outreach and new initiatives
- Continued success of Cardiff's Age Friendly City programme, recognised nationally and internationally
Innovative services have gained global recognition, with the Caring Friends Volunteer Befriending Scheme highlighted by the World Health Organisation as an example of good practice.
Workforce stability has been improved, reducing social worker vacancies to their lowest recorded level and reporting high levels of staff satisfaction.
Further improvements include more efficient hospital discharge arrangements, with delays below the Welsh average and a 33% reduction in the number of days delayed.
New housing and care models are supporting independence, including the first Housing with Care scheme at Llys y Goetre, helping residents remain in their communities with tailored support.
Across both services, Cardiff has continued to modernise through digital innovation.
A major achievement during the year was the successful implementation of the Eclipse client record system across Children's and Adult Services, improving efficiency and integration of services.
The council has also introduced new technologies, including AI-supported tools and automation, helping staff spend more time supporting residents directly.
This includes the ‘Single View of the Child' project which brings together data from across public services to create a single, secure view of a child's interactions with services over time, helping social workers to make better, more informed decisions and ensure children receive the right support at the right time. Through this work, Cardiff has led the way in the UK on solving what has been one of the most long-standing and most problems identified by safeguarding reviews, with this success recognised at a national level through winning the Digital Impact Award at the LGC Awards 2026 earlier this month.
TEC (Technology Enabled Care) is also currently being embedded within Adult Services.
Councillor Norma Mackie, Cabinet Member for Social Services (Adult Services), said:
“We are proud of the progress that has been made during the year, particularly in improving outcomes for adults and carers across Cardiff. From higher satisfaction levels to innovative services like Caring Friends and Housing with Care, we are helping people stay independent and live well in their communities. We will continue to build on this progress to ensure our services meet the needs of our residents now and in the future.”
Councillor Ash Lister, Cabinet Member for Social Services (Children's Services), added:
“This report shows the real difference our services are making for children, young people and families. From strengthening early help and improving safeguarding to creating more local provision and supporting foster carers, we are focused on giving every child the best possible start in life. I would like to thank our staff, partners and families for their continued dedication and commitment.”
While the report acknowledges ongoing challenges such as increasing demand and financial pressures, it highlights a strong platform for continued improvement, with clear priorities around prevention, partnership working and innovation, the council said.
