Key takeaways from the European Social Services Network Conference 2025

ADASS President, Jess McGregor, shares her key insights from the event, including the similarities and differences in adult social care across Europe, our achievements to reform the sector in England and why there’s still more work to do to ensure that it’s truly diverse and inclusive. 

It’s been a real privilege to spend this week in Aarhus, Denmark, at the European Social Services Network Conference surrounded by committed public servants and social activists from across Europe.  

Over the course of the week, I’ve been struck by an incredible commonality in our work despite our different national contexts. Whether in Denmark, Euskadi, France, Ireland or the UK, many of us are grappling with similar questions: How do we redesign care around people’s lives? How can we build more relational, human-centred public services? And how do we use data and technology in ways that enable people to flourish? 

These themes came through strongly in panel discussions, workshops, corridor conversations and over coffee. There’s a real sense of collective ambition across Europe to move away from transactional models and towards systems of care rooted in trust, empathy, and co-production. It was exciting to hear how many places are reimagining their purpose and practice, putting people, not processes, at the heart of what they do. 

At the same time, there were also striking differences. Most surprising for me was what people here repeatedly described as their biggest challenge: the rising expectations of citizens when it comes to personalised care. That theme came up again and again. No one that I heard from talked about financial pressures or funding gaps. The dominant concern was how to meet growing public demand for more tailored, individualised care and support.  

That contrast has stayed with me. Because in England, when we talk about the challenges facing social care we so often start and end with funding. Financial constraints overshadow so much of what we do and shape how far and how fast we can go. And far from facing unmanageable expectations, we often find ourselves working to raise awareness and understanding of adult social care, what it is, how it works, and why Care Can’t Wait, and it matters. It’s not unusual for us to have to persuade an older person that they’re entitled to care or support at all, let alone personalised care that would enable them to flourish. 

And yet, my overriding reflection from this week is one of pride. Many colleagues there are just beginning a journey we started 11 years ago with the Care Act. Quietly but steadily, we’ve built a foundation for care that is relational, co-produced and personalised. Whilst we haven’t yet achieved that for everyone, that ethos is no longer niche. It runs through so much of the best work happening in all our local authorities and communities across the country. 

For every brilliant example I heard in Aarhus, I could think of a counterpart at home. Whether it’s predictive AI in Norfolk, the adoption of technology enabled care in Kingston, the Community Operating Model in York, data led integration in Leeds or Family Group Conferencing in Camden, we already have a wealth of practice that reflects the very principles being celebrated here: care that is human, flexible, grounded in people’s strengths and aspirations, and enabled by digital innovation. 

This week has also been a helpful reminder to me about the importance of ensuring that when we come together to talk about social care, we hear from the full breadth of people who draw on it and from practitioners and leaders who reflect our diverse communities. I heard from a lot of people this week who looked like me and shared many of the same privileges that I do. Whilst we still have more work to do on this in England, we should also celebrate the progress that we are making. 

As I head home, I do so with a renewed sense of clarity, not just about what’s possible, but about what’s already in motion. I feel more confident than ever that the work happening in adult social care in England, though sometimes under-recognised, is world-class. It’s bold, thoughtful, and rooted in love. We’re on the right track – but we could do with some more money.