People with lived experience of specific issues are widely recognised as experts who can inform and improve policy and practice across social services. While the term ‘lived experience expert’ generally refers to people with personal insight into a specific system, such as child protection or disability support services, arguably the same could be said about those directly involved in managing and delivering social services.
This is why at the European Social Network (ESN), we create opportunities for our members, mostly public authorities, to share their experience and expertise with decision-makers at both national and EU levels. The goal in doing so is to influence social policy to improve the lives of people in their communities.
Gathering evidence is a vital first step, which is where the European Social Services Index (ESSI) comes into play. This year, with the help of a dedicated Working Group, we have collected data on social services legislation, expenditure, and coverage in 16 EU Member States and presented our findings and recommendations during a recent meeting in Brussels. The Working Group raised several vitally important points during discussions.
Developing benchmark frameworks to monitor social services coverage
The lack of data on social services and the significant variations in available data across the EU make it extremely difficult to understand whether governments are investing enough to meet their population’s needs, also generating challenges for cross-country comparisons.
Cassandra Simmons, the independent consultant who supported ESN in analysing the ESSI data across countries, highlighted during the meeting how national figures are often either not available, dispersed across levels of governance, or not comparable. Faced with such shortcomings, Cassandra analysed data produced by Eurostat, including the European System of Integrated Social Protection Statistics (ESSPROS), which highlights a tendency of social protection towards cash benefits. In Italy, for example, these constituted 21.32% of the GDP in 2023, more than three times the investment in goods and services (6.59%).
Earlier this year, the European Parliament recognised regular EU-wide data collection on social services as key to an evidence-based analysis of national social policies. Based on this, the EU should develop benchmark frameworks for regular collection and reporting by Member States across service areas.
Launching a European social services workforce strategy
More detailed, disaggregated data would not only help identify gaps in coverage but could also guide targeted workforce planning. Our ESSI findings reinforced this need, showing low staffing levels in several countries relative to population size and demand. Equally, training and regulation of social services professionals are closely connected to quality. As Caroline Strong, Chief Operations Officer of the Irish Association of Social Workers, stated during the Working Group meeting, “Safer service is regulated service”.
She pointed out that, in Ireland, the Health and Social Care Professionals Council (CORU) currently regulates 12 professions, including social workers and social care workers. These arrangements provide those receiving care, their families, and the general public with the reassurance that workers are appropriately trained and operating to the highest standards. They also give workers the opportunity for ongoing professional development to enrich their competencies and thereby respond more effectively to new challenges like digital transformation.
Professionals’ training, upskilling, and reskilling should be high on the EU agenda, and consideration should be given to the launch of a social services workforce strategy with a clear focus on elements such as statutory regulation and EU-wide recognition of qualifications.
Promoting integrated community-based social services
Alongside workers, the role of informal carers cannot be disregarded, particularly as they provide 80% of long-term care in Europe. The high level of informal care provision across the EU is indicative of people’s preference for care to be available in their own home and community, but it is also a reflection of gaps in personalised services. This reinforces the urgent need to fulfil calls in the Council of the European Union’s recommendation on access to affordable high-quality long-term care, expanding community-based services and moving away from institutional care.
During the meeting, good practices were identified in Sweden, where nearly 43% of older people received telecare services in 2024, and Latvia, which recorded the highest share of adults with disabilities using personal assistance schemes among the 16 countries featured in this year’s ESSI.
The Working Group also reflected on the drawbacks of a system where both data collection and service provision are shaped by age. The emphasis on services being tagged to age often results in service users losing established connections. For example, people with disabilities are asked to shift to services for older adults once they reach retirement age, and children in the care system are expected to move out and move on autonomously when they become legal adults.
Harnessing the ESSI as a strategic tool to inform social policies
A holistic, person-centred model of care requires overcoming existing professional silos and adopting a life cycle approach to meeting the needs of those most vulnerable in society. It also demands sufficient financing, including through EU funds, which has a ripple effect on the workforce and, subsequently, service quality.
In this context, the ESSI represents an ideal instrument for monitoring and influencing the state of the social care sector while directly recognising the experience and input of social services professionals in the policy space. As Alfonso Lara Montero, CEO of ESN, highlighted during the Working Group meeting: “This piece of work is highly strategic at the EU level and can directly inform policy.”
