Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 19
19
Accepted
Department lacks clear workforce planning for overseas staff amidst rising exploitation risks
Conclusion
In its 2021 white paper, the Department said it expected the number of jobs in adult social care to increase by almost one-third by 2035.42 Given its reliance on overseas workers to date, we asked what percentage of the workforce it expected to come from overseas in future. The Department told us that it did not do workforce planning in this way because it was not a public sector workforce but rather a private sector workforce with 18,000 employers.43 We asked whether recent changes in Home Office visa policies that restrict overseas workers from bringing dependents might have an impact on the sector’s ability to recruit from overseas. The Department assured us that it expected to be able to carry on recruiting internationally for people without dependents.44 We also asked about the risks of exploitation and modern slavery through the care sector. For example, the charity Unseen UK reported that its anti-modern slavery and exploitation helpline had seen a 606% increase in care sector cases from 2021 to 2022, and that it expected cases in 2023 to exceed 130. The Department told us that, while it does not have a statutory responsibility for the issue, it recognises the concern, and that it was working with other organisations to minimise the issue.45
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and states the recommendation has been implemented, referring to its 2021 workforce strategy and 2023 plan. It details investments in recruitment, retention, and international recruitment, including £15 million in 2023-24 for local initiatives, alongside adherence to ethical standards in international recruitment.
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.