Union leaders call for urgent meeting with government to discuss the “workforce crisis” in social care

The call comes after the government announced on Tuesday that it was halving its planned funding for the social care workforce.

In a joint letter to the care minister Helen Whately, the unions warn “there is no serious plan in place to” address the staffing shortages in social care and describe the decision to reduce funding as a “huge step backwards”.

The union leaders say:

“This week’s announcement by the Department of Health and Social Care is a huge step backwards. The training and development fund has been halved from the £500m pledged to £250m.

“Investment to support health and wellbeing among the social care workforce is nowhere to be seen. And with no sign of the long-awaited workforce strategy, there is no serious plan in place to address the social care staffing crisis for the long-term.”

Highlighting the failure to improve working conditions in social care the unions say:

“Staffing is the single biggest challenge facing adult social care. The disproportionately female, BME social care workforce delivers an essential public service. Yet ever-worsening pay and conditions combined with low morale have contributed to a recruitment and retention crisis.

“Four out of ten care workers earn less than real living wage and nine in ten earn less than the £15 per hour unions are calling for. Almost a quarter (24%) of the sector are employed on zero-hours contracts.

“This has a real impact on the lives of people who rely on care services.”

Calling for an urgent meeting to discuss the workforce crisis, the unions say:

“The Government promised to throw a protective ring around social care. But instead, it is presiding over a perfect storm.

“Therefore, we the undersigned, call for an urgent meeting with you as soon as possible to discuss our serious concerns about the social care workforce crisis and the critical next steps needed.”

The full letter reads:

Dear Helen Whately MP,

Re: Addressing the adult social care workforce crisis

We are writing to seek an urgent meeting with you to discuss our concerns about the social care workforce crisis and the critical steps needed to address it.

The need for accessible, quality social care services is felt by every family and community in this country. There’s an ageing population and an increasing number of people with complex and long-term support needs. Yet the adult social care system is in crisis.

Staffing is the single biggest challenge facing adult social care. The disproportionately female, BME social care workforce delivers an essential public service. Yet ever-worsening pay and conditions combined with low morale have contributed to a recruitment and retention crisis.

Four out of ten care workers earn less than real living wage and nine in ten earn less than the £15 per hour unions are calling for. Skills for Care data from last October shows there are currently around 165,000 social care vacancies. That’s an increase of 52% on the figures for 2020-21. Almost a quarter (24%) of the sector are employed on zero-hours contracts.

This has a real impact on the lives of people who rely on care services. The Association of Directors of Adult Social Services has identified that 1.5 million hours of commissioned home care could not be provided between August and October 2021 because of a lack of staff. Huge service backlogs meant that nearly 300,000 people without care as they waited for social care assessments in April 2022.

Without an improvement in pay and conditions in social care, vacancy rates will continue to skyrocket, leaving millions without the care and support they urgently need.

The December 2021 white paper People at the Heart of Care promised “at least £500m over the next three years to begin to transform the way we support the social care workforce”. This would be provided with “dedicated investment in knowledge, skills, health and wellbeing” alongside “new universal career structures and training opportunities”.

This week’s announcement by the Department of Health and Social Care is a huge step backwards. The training and development fund has been halved from the £500m pledged to

£250m. Investment to support health and wellbeing among the social care workforce is nowhere to be seen. And with no sign of the long-awaited workforce strategy, there is no serious plan in place to address the social care staffing crisis for the long-term.

The government promised to throw a protective ring around social care. But instead, it is presiding over a perfect storm.

Therefore, we the undersigned, call for an urgent meeting with you as soon as possible to discuss our serious concerns about the social care workforce crisis and the critical next steps needed.

Yours sincerely

Paul Nowak, TUC General Secretary

Christina McAnea, UNISON General Secretary

Gary Smith, GMB General Secretary

Sharon Graham, Unite the Union General Secretary