Filling the care staff gap

The adult social care workforce is a vital asset. More people work in social care than the NHS - 1.65 million compared to 1.5 million in the NHS. However, the ability to attract and retain staff with the right skills sets is hampered by poor pay and reward and the lack of coherent career structures.

As part of the care reforms announced, the government said it would spend £500m over the next three years on the workforce, which will include:

• Professionalising and developing the care workforce, as well as providing additional support to regulated roles, such as social workers.

• Funding mental health and wellbeing resources, including to help care staff recover from the pandemic.

• Taking action to improve recruitment and retention.