November 26th 2025
We’re pleased to share the new 2021–25 Better Security, Better Care (BSBC) impact infographic – and the results highlight just how far we’ve come as a sector. Over the past four years, we’ve been working alongside care providers and our local support partners across England to help make good data protection and cyber security part of everyday practice.
Since 2021, we’ve moved from a position where only a small proportion of adult social care providers engaged with the Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT) to one where it is the norm. Through our national coordination and the trusted relationships built by 28 local support organisations, we’ve delivered free, practical, accessible support to over 21,000of providers.
A sector-wide rise in cyber confidence
One of our most significant achievements is helping drive a fivefold increase in DSPT use. 76% of all care providers use the toolkit – up from just 15% in 2021. The biggest shift has been among home care services, where DSPT uptake has risen from 4% to 66%.
This is the most substantial improvement in data protection engagement adult social care has ever achieved.
Support rooted in local relationships
Across our programme, we’ve delivered more than 10,600 webinars and online workshops, and over 15,000 one-to-one support sessions – equivalent to more than 60,000 hours of personalised advice. We have provided 14,100 hours of helpline support, and we’ve spent over 50,000 hours engaging directly with providers and stakeholders.
We couldn’t do this without our network of more than 100 partners and the 28 local support organisations, who understand their communities and build the trusted relationships that make this work possible.
Direct investment into the frontline
We’ve ensured that funding reaches the organisations that support providers directly. Since 2021, we’ve invested £15 million into local support organisations, as part of £21.5 million of grant funding across the programme. Looking ahead, £21.3 million has already been confirmed through to March 2029, enabling 32 local support organisations to continue this work.
The impact of this investment is clear. Independent evaluation shows that every £1 spent on the programme saves the sector £2.50 in avoided cyber incident costs. Together with our local partners, we’ve become the established delivery infrastructure for cyber resilience in adult social care.
Extending our impact through innovation and additional funding
Over time, we’ve used insights from the programme and combined them with other sources of funding to develop new tools, services and training that respond to real issues raised by providers.
These include:
- Our two free eLearning courses, accessed by more than 80,600 people across 169,000 sessions.
- The Cyber Game, which supports frontline staff to learn through realistic social care cyber scenarios.
- Our cyber Healthchecks, including vulnerability assessments, simulations and workshops.
- The Data Policy Builder, helping providers understand their responsibilities and generate tailored policies.
- Original research, such as online safety for people with learning disabilities and insights on Bring Your Own Device practices.
“A community effort built on trust”
Reflecting on our progress, Michelle Corrigan, Programme Director for Better Security, Better Care, said:
“These achievements belong to the thousands of care providers who have made data protection and cyber security a priority – often in very challenging circumstances. What makes Better Security, Better Care special is the trusted, local support that underpins everything we do. Our partners across England bring deep knowledge of their communities, helping providers build confidence at a pace that works for them. And by blending our programme’s insights with additional funding, we’ve been able to create even more tools and resources that reflect the real-world needs of social care. Ultimately, this is all about helping providers deliver safe, secure, high-quality care – now and into the future.”
As we move into the next phase of the programme, we remain committed to supporting every care provider to strengthen their data security, reduce risks, and protect the people and services that rely on them.
Download impact infographic 2021-25
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