Implementation 

The future of social care and the people that draw on it depends on a strong and valued workforce. Implemented fully, this Workforce Strategy will be a rallying call for all the people who want to make change happen.  

In social care, where no one body owns all the levers, coalescing around a shared vision and strategy becomes even more crucial. We all have a role to play – government, regulators, employers, people drawing on social care and all of us who care about quality care. We need to develop a stronger, more business-focused relationship between government and the sector, founded on mutual respect and a desire to improve outcomes for people drawing on services and the 1.59m people working in the sector.  

We have firm commitments from the Steering Group to evolve into the Adult Social Care Workforce Strategy Delivery Board, moving this from development to implementation. Organisations with system leadership roles and levers to pull are ready to play their part. A movement has begun.  

Skills for Care will support the implementation of the Strategy with its own implementation unit which will include tracking the impact of the work and are already forming a community of employers who are keen to be Workforce Strategy Advocates.  

Care Quality Commission (CQC) has agreed to support the strategy by using its role and remit to influence key changes, as introduced throughout the document. CQC should consider how it applies the new Single Assessment Framework and new Quality Statements linked to workforce wellbeing and equality, diversity and inclusion to give a focus to the key areas highlighted in the Strategy. CQC should use its independent voice to share best practice guidance and encourage providers and systems to improve.   

In light of the inherent dispersal and diversification within the adult social care sector, the Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set offers an unparalleled depth and breadth of understanding regarding our workforce and its trends, a level of insight that many comparable sectors can only aspire to possess but the sector needs access to wider data and modelling to better understand and plan for changes in needs.  

But by far the most powerful single action is for government to mandate this Strategy. That bold act would lead to long-lasting transformation in the adult social care sector, the likes of which have been talked about for many years.  

By working together, we can build a future where social care offers fulfilling careers, attracts talented individuals, and empowers its workforce to deliver exceptional care. Let us make this the turning point for social care.