Responding to the Skills for Care ‘State of the Sector and Workforce’ report, Cllr Dr Wendy Taylor, Chair of the LGA’s Health and Wellbeing Committee, said:
“The care workforce plays a fundamental and invaluable role in supporting people who draw on social care to live the independent lives they want to lead.
"Growth in the care workforce is a positive reflection of recent progress in improving capacity, stability and quality in the sector. However, urgent action is still needed to tackle long-standing serious recruitment and retention challenges, particularly around fair pay, access to training, and employment rights for all care workers.
“The Government's ambition to deliver a Fair Pay Agreement (FPA) for adult social care workers will be the cornerstone of this, but its success hinges on its costs being fully funded.
“We need a financially sustainable care system that is rooted in prevention and personalised care, and one that delivers for both workers and those who draw on care and support, now and for years to come.”