Care and support is something which affects us all. We all know someone, a family member or friend, who needs some extra support to lead a full and active life. The Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework measures how well that support achieves the things we would expect for ourselves and for our friends and relatives – care that treats people with dignity and respect, and that supports them to keep well and independent, and able to play an active role in their communities. People who use care and support, carers and the public can use this information to see how well their council is performing, making local authorities genuinely answerable to their communities for the quality of care. Councils themselves use the measures to help them drive up standards of care, and give people genuine choice and control over the services they use.