Contents 2 Applicant Index Report 2026 1 Introduction 3 Foreword – Joe Lister 4 Foreword – Nick Hillman 5 Executive summary 6 Applicant Index scores 8 Introducing the themes 9 2 Thematic analysis 10 Finance 11 Social 19 Community 22 Wellbeing 24 Resilience 30 Learning 31 Employment 33 Independence 35 Sustainability 39 3 Belonging, equity and inclusion 40 Care experienced and estranged applicants 41 Neurodivergent applicants 43 4 Appendices 44 Appendices 45