Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 19
19
Rejected
The Department told us numbers in the social care workforce were going in the right...
Recommendation
The Department told us numbers in the social care workforce were going in the right direction and that domiciliary care and care home workforces were expanding.70 However, written evidence sent to us by the National Care Forum highlights that, as of October 2022, there were 165,000 vacancies in the sector according to Skills for Care’s most recent 2021–22 annual report.71 This is an increase of 50% compared to the 110,000 vacancies in 2020–21, and represents a 3% contraction of the social care workforce over the previous year in the face of increasing demand.72
Government Response Summary
The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation, stating that they don't hold further information to explain the underlying reasons for social care vacancies and don't produce forecasts for vacancies.
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
3.9 The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation. 3.10 According to Skills for Care, the vacancy rate in independent care providers was 10.7% in 2021-22, increasing from 7.0% the previous year. The rate had been around 7% since 2017-18. Vacancy rates in the care sector are determined by natural churn, independent providers’ ambitions to grow, demand for care, trends in the wider labour market and workforce capacity pressures. 3.11 There is significant international interest in care roles, with latest Home Office data showing there were 56,900 visa grants for care workers and senior care workers under the Health and Care Visa in 2022. The government is investing £15 million to help local areas access international recruitment opportunities and running a national recruitment campaign to bolster domestic supply. 3.12 The department does not hold further information to explain the underlying reasons for social care vacancies and it do not produce forecasts for vacancies, so is unable to provide further advice on these topics. The department will publish additional information on what it is doing to support care commissioners and employers improve workforce capacity, including an update on its workforce reform programme and international recruitment.