Disclaimer
Our scores summarise anonymous opinions and published evidence. They are not official ratings. This page explains what our information can and cannot tell you.
In summary
- Scores are not official ratings or inspection judgements.
- Comments are personal opinions from anonymous people. We cannot check them.
- Nothing on this website is professional, legal or medical advice.
- This website cannot respond to emergencies, safeguarding concerns or individual cases.
What our scores are
Each department a council runs has its own score, for example a housing score, and social care also has a combined social care score. A department score is a number from 0 to 100. It combines anonymous ratings from members of the public with published oversight reports and official performance data, where they are available, using the method set out on How scoring works. The council score is also a number from 0 to 100. It is the average of the council's department scores that have a full score, with each department counting equally.
A score is an indication of reported experiences and published evidence over a period of time. It depends on who chose to take part, and every score has a margin of uncertainty, which we show as a confidence interval.
What our scores are not
A score is not:
- an official rating, inspection judgement or regulatory decision
- a finding that a council, team or person has done anything wrong
- a measure of any individual member of staff
- a prediction of the service any one person will receive
- a way to compare councils in different nations of the UK
Official inspections are carried out by regulators and inspectorates. For example, Care Inspectorate Wales inspects social care in Wales. Where we use inspection or other oversight reports, we convert the findings to a number using a published rubric. That number is ours, not the inspectorate's or regulator's.
Indicators to watch
Indicators to watch are automatic checks based on published rules, such as a sharp fall in a score. They are not accusations or findings of wrongdoing, and they do not mean that anyone is at risk.
Ratings and comments
Ratings and comments are the personal opinions of anonymous people about their own experiences, or the experiences of someone they support. They do not represent the views of SocialCareScore.
We cannot check whether the experiences described are accurate, because we do not know who submitted them. We use automatic checks and human moderation to remove identifying details and content that breaks our submission rules, and to reduce misuse. These checks cannot catch everything.
If you think a comment breaks our rules, report it. We hide it straight away while we review it.
Accuracy of our data
We take care to make sure the information we publish is accurate. Oversight and performance data are entered by one person and checked by a different person, and monthly scores are reviewed before they are published.
Errors can still happen, and the organisations that publish source data sometimes revise it. If you think something is wrong, email hello@socialcarescore.co.uk with details. If we find an error, we will correct it.
Scores and rankings show the position at the time they were published. Always check the period and methodology version shown with them.
No professional or legal advice
Our guides give general information about council services, complaints, escalation routes and support. They are not legal, financial, medical or professional advice, and they may not cover your situation. Rules and contact details can change.
For advice about your own situation, contact the organisations we list or a solicitor.
Not an emergency service
SocialCareScore is not an emergency or safeguarding service, and no one watches this website in real time.
Links to other websites
We link to other organisations' websites for information and support. We are not responsible for their content, and a link does not mean that we endorse them or that they endorse us.
We check the links and contact details on our help pages regularly, but they can change without notice.
Independence
SocialCareScore is independent. We are not part of, funded by or endorsed by any council, government department, regulator or inspectorate.
Limits of our responsibility
We provide the information on this website in good faith, for general information. As far as the law allows, we are not responsible for any loss arising from decisions made using it. Nothing in this disclaimer limits any rights you have that cannot be limited by law.
Our terms of use explain the terms that apply when you use SocialCareScore.
Wording shown with scores and comments
This wording appears with every score:
This score summarises anonymous opinions and published evidence using our published method. It is not an official rating and is not a finding about any person.
This wording appears with published comments:
Comments are the personal opinions of anonymous people about their own experiences, or the experiences of someone they support. We check every comment before it is published and remove details that could identify anyone. We cannot check whether what a comment describes happened.