In December 2025, NHS England published an updated Information Standards Notice making the Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag (RADF) a mandatory national information standard, with a compliance deadline of 30 September 2026.

The requirement applies primarily to NHS organisations and NHS-assured digital suppliers whose systems must be able to record, display and share reasonable adjustment information. While the standard is not currently mandated across all adult social care software systems, it is likely to affect suppliers that:

• provide NHS-assured products
• integrate with NHS digital infrastructure, including the Spine or Shared Care Records
• support organisations delivering NHS-funded services

As integration between health and social care systems increases, suppliers who wish to contract with, integrate with, or exchange information with NHS systems may need to ensure their products can support this standard.

CASPA is engaging with the relevant departments and programme teams to improve communication with the care software sector and to ensure that suppliers are given clear guidance and sufficient time to comply with emerging national digital standards.

To read more, please see here.

What the Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag does

The Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag enables organisations to record and share information about adjustments that may be required to support a person when accessing services. These adjustments help services meet their duties under the Equality Act 2010.
Examples include:

• communication or information format requirements
• additional time for appointments
• accessibility or environmental adjustments
• specific support needs related to disability or impairment

The aim is that adjustments can be recorded once and shared across services, reducing the need for individuals to repeatedly explain their needs and helping staff provide appropriate support.

What the standard requires from systems

Systems implementing the standard must be able to:

• record reasonable adjustments using a structured national data model
• use standardised codes for adjustment types
• display the presence of a flag clearly within workflows
• share and retrieve adjustment information through NHS digital infrastructure

What CASPA members should consider

Although the requirement currently sits mainly within NHS systems and assured suppliers, it is likely to become relevant where social care systems interoperate with NHS services or shared care records.
CASPA members may therefore wish to:

• review the Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag information standard
• assess whether their products may need to capture, display or exchange this information when integrating with NHS systems
• monitor future developments in digital assurance and interoperability requirements

CASPA will continue to monitor developments and will keep members informed as further guidance or requirements emerge.