Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 18
18
Accepted
Adult social care workforce vacancies remain high and are worse in rural areas
Conclusion
We have repeatedly raised concerns about care workforce shortages. When we reported in 2018, vacancy rates for 2016–17 were 6.6%.38 The vacancy rate has increased since then and, as the NAO reported, in 2022–23 vacancies were 152,000, a rate of 9.9%, despite the recruitment of 70,000 staff from overseas. We observed that, although this was lower than the high point of 2021–22, when reported vacancies reached 164,000, this was still way off the 60,000 from 2012–13.39 The Department agreed that vacancies were too high but assured us that things were improving. We heard that monthly figures for November 2023 showed a vacancy rate of 8.4% but the Department acknowledged that these were not as robust as the annual figures.40 When we highlighted regional variation, the Department agreed that rural areas were undoubtedly worse affected and that addressing geographical disparities was a high priority for both its staff and local authorities. The Department noted the challenge that as more young people live in cities and more elderly people live in rural and coastal areas, demand was higher in rural areas but the people to deliver care were in the cities.41
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and states the recommendation has been implemented, referring to its 2021 workforce strategy and 2023 plan. It highlights ongoing investment in recruitment and retention reforms, including workforce training, pay, and a £15 million investment in 2023-24 for international recruitment initiatives.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
4.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 4.2 In 2021, the department published its workforce strategy in Chapter 5 of People at the Heart of Care: adult social care reform and in 2023 published the subsequent plan Next Steps to put People at the Heart of Care. 4.3 The overall vacancy rate in ASC was 9.9% in 2022-23, a decrease of 11,000 vacancies (-0.7 percentage points) compared to 2021-22. Skills for Care indicative monthly data (unweighted data) for independent providers shows since then the vacancy rate has fallen to 8.1% in February 2024. The department is investing in recruitment and retention through a number of reforms aimed at professionalisation including significant investment in workforce training and through the Market Sustainability and Improvement Fund, which includes a focus on workforce pay. 4.4 Alongside implementing wider changes to the immigration system, the department has clear ethical standards laid out in the Code of Practice for International Recruitment, which covers both health and care sectors. The department has invested £15 million in 2023-24 to support local initiatives to increase and improve international recruitment in the adult social care sector.