Select committee: Health and Social Care Committee

Recommendation 53

Third Report - Workforce: recruitment, training and retention in health and social care Published 25 Jul 2022 Paragraph 185 Addressed to Department of Health and Social Care
Recommendation (the committee's words)
We reiterate the recommendation made in our ‘Social care: funding and workforce’ report that annual funding for social care should be increased by £7 billion by 2023–24. This will account for demographic changes, uplift staff pay in line with National Minimum Wage and protect people who face catastrophic social care costs.

From: Health and Social Care Committee, Third Report - Workforce: recruitment, training and retention in health and social care (HC 115), paragraph 185, 25 July 2022

Government response

The government responded to the whole report on 21 April 2023 (deadline 25 September 2022).

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.

The government's response sets out partial and varied positions on the Committee's 73 recommendations, with some agreed, some agreed in principle, and others not agreed, and points to the forthcoming Long Term Workforce Plan.

  • On workforce planning (Recommendations 1 and 2) it states "We agree this recommendation" and says the Long Term Workforce Plan will include independently verified projections for 5, 10 and 15 years, which it has "committed to publishing" "shortly".
  • On a new nursing bursary scheme (Recommendation 3) it says "We do not agree with this recommendation", citing the training grants already available to nursing, midwifery and allied health students.
  • On maternity funding and workforce plans (Recommendations 9 and 10) it states "We disagree with these recommendations", but says it "will consider" the forthcoming Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists report and "will keep further funding under review".
  • On social care funding it states "We do not accept" the recommendation of an extra £7 billion a year by 2023-24, pointing to up to £2.8 billion in 2023-24 and up to £4.7bn in 2024-25.

Read the government's response ↗ Report an error