English Version
Welsh version
About the research
This report and the underpinning research have been funded by Co-operatives UK, Cwmpas and Social Business Wales with additional capacity and support from the Centre for Care and Centre for Adult Social Care Research (CARE). It was written by Serena Vicario, Nadia Brookes, and Kate Hamblin as part of the Centre for Care and Sarah Jenkins from CARE.
CARE brings together multi-disciplinary expertise from across Cardiff University and fosters collaboration with organisations and groups across the UK. We are funded by Health and Care Research Wales.
The Centre for Care is a collaboration between the universities of Sheffield, Birmingham, Kent and Oxford, the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, the Office for National Statistics, Carers UK, the National Children’s Bureau and the Social Care Institute for Excellence. Working with care sector partners and leading international teams, it addresses the urgent need for new, accessible evidence on care. Led by Centre Director Kate Hamblin and Deputy Director Nathan Hughes, its research aims to make a positive difference in how care is experienced and provided in the UK and internationally.
This report was written by Serena Vicario, Nadia Brookes, Sarah Jenkins, Kate Hamblin as part of the Centre’s work on Care Workforce Change. The paper was designed and typeset by Dan Williamson.
To cite: Vicario, S., Jenkins, S., Brookes, B., and Hamblin, K. (2026). Social Care Co-operatives in the UK. Centre for Care Research Report, CIRCLE, Sheffield: University of Sheffield
ISBN 978-1-0666227-0-2
©The authors and CIRCLE, The University of Sheffield, April 2026
The Centre for Care is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), award ES/W002302/1, with contribution from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) (Department of Health and Social Care). The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the ESRC, UKRI, NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.
Supported by Co-operatives UK, Cwmpas and Social Business Wales