Skills for Care releases new data on the adult social care workforce in England
Skills for Care has released new data on the adult social care workforce in England.
The annual “Size and Structure of the Adult Social Care Workforce in England Report” records that the number of filled posts in social care increased by around 1% (20,000) between April 2022 and March 2023. The new figures show that the vacancy rate in social care decreased to 9.9% compared to 10.6% the previous year. The total number of vacant posts decreased by 7% from 164,000 to 152,000.
For independent sector care homes, the number of filled posts increased by 3% (16,000). In independent sector domiciliary care services, the number of filled posts increased by 2% (10,000). There was a small drop in the number of Personal Assistants and posts employed by Local Authorities.
Despite the increase in filled posts, Skills for Care monthly tracking data reports a vacancy rate for domiciliary care of 12%, which is higher than the average for social care of 9.9%, and four times higher than the average for the wider economy.
Some employers are using international recruitment to maintain or grow workforce capacity. This was made possible after social care workers were added to the Shortage Occupation List in February 2022. Since then, an estimated 70,000 people have started direct care providing roles in the independent sector having arrived in the UK between March 2022 and March 2023. Whilst helpful in the short-term, international recruitment is challenging in homecare due to zero-hour commissioning, inadequate fee rates, the need to drive and costs of accommodation. Other solutions are needed for the longer-term. You can read our Top Ten Tips for international recruitment to help members looking to recruit abroad.
The figures continue to point to long-term challenges for the social care workforce. If it grows proportionally to the projected number of people aged 65 and over in the population, the number of posts will need to increase by around 445,000 to around 2.23 million by 2035.
Jane Townson OBE, Chief Executive of the Homecare Association, said
“It is encouraging to see a small increase in filled posts and a reduction in the number of vacancies in adult social care, though this is largely a result of international recruitment. Workforce numbers have not, however, recovered fully from the losses in 2020-21. Growth of workforce numbers in homecare has been lower than that in care homes. This reflects the fact that it is harder to make international recruitment work in homecare than in care homes. Zero-hour commissioning and inadequate fee rates mean it can be difficult to meet salary thresholds for international recruitment without significant risk to employers. The need to drive in homecare can also be an added barrier for careworkers from other countries.
“For various reasons, we cannot rely on international recruitment in homecare to meet need in the longer-term. We call on the government to invest adequately in homecare, so we can grow and develop the workforce within the UK. Central to this is enough funding to ensure fair pay and to recognise the role of careworkers in providing a vital public service. Helping to keep us all well at home improves quality of life, enables more of us to remain in the labour force, and reduces pressure on councils and the NHS. We need a healthy population for economic growth.”
