The National Care Forum (NCF) has called for urgent government intervention to tackle the deepening workforce crisis in adult social care.
The call follows publication of two significant reports – Skills for Care’s The state of the adult social care sector and workforce in England and a Health Foundation report on in-work poverty amongst residential staff.
This year’s Skills for Care report has found:
- A three per cent (50,000 post) decrease in the number of filled posts in 2021/22.
- A 10.7 per cent vacancy rate in adult social care – the highest rate since records began in 2012/13.
- A 52 per cent increase in the number of vacancies in adult social care in 2021/22 – with 165,000 posts currently vacant.
- That the decrease in filled posts is due to recruitment and retention difficulties rather than a decrease in demand.
- That the starter rate has fallen from 37.3 per cent to 30.8 per cent since 2018.
- That 80 per cent of jobs in the economy pay more than jobs in social care.
The Health Foundation found that:
- Before the cost-of-living crisis, 1 in 5 residential care workers was already living in poverty, compared to 1 in 8 of all workers.
- Between 2017 and 2020, 20 per cent of residential care workers claimed universal credit and legacy benefits, compared to 10 per cent of all workers.
- Thirteen per cent of residential care workers’ children live in material deprivation.
Professor Vic Rayner OBE, NCF CEO, said: “We need the government to acknowledge the huge challenges facing the adult social care workforce. The government needs to tackle the challenges head-on and deliver a strategic workforce plan that addresses pay, terms and conditions in a meaningful way.
We are seeing the highest vacancy rate in adult social care since records began. This is the result of chronic underfunding and a lack of workforce planning that has been years in the making.
“The Health Foundation’s findings on in-work poverty for residential staff makes for difficult reading. It cannot continue to be the case that brilliant staff, carrying out vital, life-changing work cannot afford to work in care. Care is the backbone of communities up and down the country and they are the lifeblood of its delivery. We welcome and echo the Health Foundation’s call for additional investment and reform for adult social care to address low pay.
“The government should now prioritise improving pay by bringing forward a fully funded, strategic workforce plan for adult social care in England. This will not only benefit the people that deliver vital care but will also improve the lives of people that draw from it.
“Liz Truss and her new cabinet have the opportunity to start addressing the workforce crisis after decades of inaction. They should also see social care as key to their plan for growth. Skills for Care estimates that adult social care contributes £51.5 billion per annum to the economy in England in 2021/22 – we urge the government to help grow the economy by giving the adult social care workforce the much-needed funding and support it needs.”
