Turning point for social care as the sector launches a Workforce Strategy
The launch of a new Workforce Strategy for adult social care in England is being hailed as a turning point for care – as new data shows the sector still has a vacancy rate around three times higher than the wider economy.
The Workforce Strategy aims to improve the quality of roles in adult social care, ensuring that the sector can attract and keep enough people with the right skills and values to provide the best possible care and support for the people who draw on it.
Skills for Care – the workforce development body for adult social care in England – has led the development of the Strategy, in collaboration with a wide range of organisations and people with a stake in the future of the sector. These include the Care Quality Commission and representatives of care workers, employers, local authorities, Integrated Care Systems and people who draw on care and support – along with organisations from the health and education sectors.
The Strategy highlights the impact of social care on improving lives – as well as its role in supporting economic growth, with the sector currently contributing almost £60 billion a year to the economy. The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, has asked the Department of Health and Social Care to expand its focus on boosting economic growth.
The Workforce Strategy is designed to complement the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, which was published last year. Its three areas of focus are attraction and retention, training and transformation, in line with the main themes of the NHS Plan.
Like the NHS Plan, the Workforce Strategy covers the next 15 years. Skills for Care’s latest data shows that we will need 540,000 additional social care posts by 2040 if the workforce is to grow in line with the increase in the number people over the age of 65 in the population. That number is expected to grow most sharply over the next decade, so we will need 430,000 extra posts by 2035.
The Strategy was not commissioned by government, but the sector wants to work with the new Government as it develops its plans for social care, to take the ambitions from the Strategy, prioritise them and implement them. The sector would also like government support for a regular review of the Strategy, to keep a focus on this core workforce.
Recommendations for government include:
- leading joined-up and consistent action to improve pay, terms and conditions for care workers
- continuing to invest consistently in training and clear career pathways.
- introducing legislation to mandate strategic workforce planning and create a central body – outside of, but directed and supported by, government – to drive delivery.
The Strategy includes independent modelling of three different options to improve pay: increasing compliance with the National Living Wage and paying care workers for travel time, a minimum wage for carers of the Real Living Wage or £1 or £2 above the National Living Wage - and aligning with NHS pay bands.
The level of annual state investment needed to improve pay varies from £30 million for increasing National Living Wage compliance and paying for travel time – to £4 billion for aligning pay for care workers with 2 or more years’ experience to NHS pay band 3. However, all the options would generate considerable savings for the NHS and in terms of reduced recruitment costs for employers.
Recommendations for others in the sector include:
- Skills for Care, local government, NHS Employers and partners should support Integrated Care Systems to develop their own workforce strategies
- the Council of Deans of Health should encourage universities to reflect adult social care.
The Strategy’s recommendations feature alongside a series of commitments from the adult social care sector. Among these:
- the Care Quality Commission (CQC) will encourage good workforce planning by care providers
- Skills for Care will streamline mandatory training for care workers and the CQC will share appropriate guidance
- Skills for Care, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) and partners will create a development framework for Directors of Adult Social Services in local authorities
- a coalition of organisations, including the Care Provider Alliance, ADASS, Local Government Association, Care Workers Charity, unions and Skills for Care, will support employers with guidance on prioritising staff wellbeing and tackling workplace harassment and violence
- the Workforce Strategy Delivery Board, which will replace the Strategy’s steering group, will gather evidence on the likely impact of creating a professional register for care workers - and how this could work.
The Strategy is being launched as new workforce data from Skills for Care – also published today – shows that, between April 2023 and March 2024:
- the adult social care workforce in England grew for the second consecutive year to 1.71 million filled posts – an increase of 4.2%, or 77,000 filled posts
- the number of vacant posts on any given day fell by 22,000 to 131,000 – a vacancy rate of 8.3%, which is around 3 times that of the wider economy
- international rather than domestic recruitment was the main driver of the increase in filled posts and the fall in vacancies
- there were 105,000 international recruits – an increase of 25,000 on the previous year
- the number of posts filled by people with a British nationality decreased by 30,000 – which is a drop of 70,000 over the last two years
- the total number of people working in adult social care – as opposed to posts – was 1.59 million. This is 5.4% of all jobs in England.
Professor Oonagh Smyth, CEO of Skills for Care and co-chair of the Workforce Strategy Steering Group, said:
Today is a turning point for social care, the people who work in it and the people who draw on it. Thanks to more than 20 years of leadership and strong relationships across the sector, Skills for Care has been able to bring together an unprecedented group of people and organisations to create something that will help to tackle some of the most profound challenges we face.
The case for change is clear. We’re going to need hundreds of thousands more care workers, with the right skills and values, over the next 15 years – yet right now the sector still has a vacancy rate around three times higher than that of the wider economy and is struggling to compete in local job markets.
A Workforce Strategy isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s a must-have if we’re going to build the workforce we need for the future. As the Prime Minister noted during the election campaign, reform of social care needs to start with the workforce – so we’re looking forward to working with the Government on the areas where their support will be crucial to bringing this game-changing Strategy to life.
Social care – and the skilled professionals who work in it – enables people to live well and drives economic growth. This Workforce Strategy takes us a step closer to protecting and properly valuing that vital role
Sir David Pearson, co-chair of the Workforce Strategy Steering Group, said:
The Workforce Strategy is the most important initiative in social care at the current time. It covers the essential things we need to do, so that we have a confident, capable and motivated workforce for the future. The people of this country need all the organisations to work together to deliver it, including the government, local government, regulators and employers.
It's been a remarkable process of development and I’ve been honoured to co-chair, seeing first-hand the commitment and passion from people and organisations with a stake in the future of the sector coming together.
The launch is just the first step and I feel excited about the implementation of the Strategy and the benefits for social care services in this country.
The full Workforce Strategy is available at www.ascworkforcestrategy.co.uk.
Support for the Workforce Strategy
James Bullion, Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care and Integrated Care at the Care Quality Commission (CQC):
The adult social care workforce is 1.59 million strong and provides some of the most essential services in our society to people, families and communities. CQC support and value the irreplaceable contribution that these care workers, care leaders and social care professionals make to services and people’s lives every day.
We welcome the work that Skills for Care has overseen on the development of the sector-led workforce strategy and have fed into the detail of the findings and recommendations. We support the need for a national workforce strategy for social care, alongside the NHS workforce strategy, to give parity of approach – and this has been a consistent message from CQC in recent years.
We set this work on workforce in the wider context of social care reform – where we have called for investment and long-term sustainability for the sector, and better access to support to create a fairer system - and can see the contribution that effective regulation can play in improvement and assurance.
The Adult Social Care Workforce Strategy is a call to action for all of us to ensure that we have a healthy, skilled and enabled workforce now and in the future to continue delivering high quality and compassionate care. We look forward to working closely with Skills for Care and other key partners on ensuring successful delivery of the ambitions outlined in the Strategy.
Jane Townson, Chair of the Care Provider Alliance and CEO of the Homecare Association:
We must prioritise making care an attractive, rewarding and long-term career opportunity. At the same time, we must innovate and look for more efficient and effective ways to deploy our care experts.
Despite care providers’ best efforts on limited budgets, care workers are amongst the lowest paid staff in the UK, with many facing poverty and even food insecurity. Long service is poorly rewarded – with new staff getting just 8p less per hour than someone with more than five years’ experience.
The priority must be on recruiting, training and retaining new staff – including younger people and men. Our sector can and does offer a deep sense of purpose and flexible working arrangements. But we must invest to build and support our essential workforce.
We welcome the long-term vision set out in this workforce strategy and look forward to working with the new Government, Skills for Care and other care partners to develop and deliver a clear, costed long-term implementation plan.
Alice McGee, Chief People Officer at Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Integrated Care Board:
One of the core purposes of an Integrated Care System is the vision to ensure that our population and staff get the best care and experience of health and care. We know that increased demand and changing perceptions of health and care means that relying on models of care and working in silos is not going to deliver the care we need and all want to deliver.
The workforce strategy for adult social care in England sets out the needs, the ambitions and the rational for doing better for our workforce and our population. The ambition is clear and the critical success will be for all of those in health and care to embrace the strategy and turn it into reality, this is an exciting time to be part of health and care.
Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE, Associate Director of the Think Local Act Personal (TLAP) Board:
We are excited to see this much-needed strategy published today. At its best, this strategy represents a pivotal moment for the sector, filled with hope and potential. We eagerly anticipate collaborating with Skills for Care and all our partners to bring these recommendations to life. By working together, we can ensure a workforce that embodies the values people seek and are appropriately valued. It will be essential to co-produce the next steps with those who draw on care and support to make sure everyone's expectations are met.
Our vision includes a strong focus on personalisation, making sure the provisions of the Care Act feel real and tangible for everyone. At its best, Personal Assistance has proven effective for many and, as the strategy outlines, can benefit even more people if we take decisive action to deliver the promised changes in ways of working that are innovative and impactful.
There is tremendous potential for growth in new forms of support that have already flourished in parts of the country. We are ready to champion and amplify these successes, enabling more people to draw on care and support from a modern, innovative workforce that is rooted in strong values and truly valued. At its best, together, we can create a brighter future for everyone who draws on care and support services.
Karolina Gerlich, CEO of the Care Workers’ Charity:
This Workforce Strategy is an incredible achievement, showcasing how the sector can come together to address both short and long-term needs. Care workers are hard-working and skilled professionals who deliver essential services to those drawing on social care. They deserve recognition, respect, and pay levels that reflect the responsibilities of their role.
We are pleased to see plans for retaining experienced care workers who are experts in their field, as well as a framework for training and development to help care workers feel valued and supported. We hope the new government will recognise the extensive work that has gone into consulting with people across the sector and implement this strategy as soon as possible.
This strategy can help transform the public perception of care and care workers. It is a great starting point for future conversations on what the adult social care workforce needs to ensure wellbeing for the workforce and those they support.
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