Response to the Government’s announcement on digital transformation of adult social care

Digitising social care is an essential journey that will help the 1.5 million people working in the sector to improve the lives of the millions of people who draw on care and support.

The new Digital Skills Framework - which we have worked with Government and the social care sector to shape - will provide a structure for developing vital new skills. This will benefit employers and people working in care alike, creating a more highly-skilled workforce and opportunities for career development – and it will benefit those who draw on care by ensuring they’re supported by digitally-skilled and digitally-confident people.

The Framework has two levels: skills for all staff, and skills for current and future leaders. This is important because we believe that developing confident and skilled digital leaders is key to ensuring that everyone working in care can develop the digital skills they need.

We don’t underestimate the capacity challenges that care providers are facing – so we’ll continue to work with our partners to make the development of digital skills as easy as possible for employers and their staff. It’s an investment with the potential to pay huge dividends to adult social care and the people who draw on it.