Daughters of Charity Services reaction to Skills for Care’s ‘The state of the adult social care sector and workforce in England’

Skills for Care has published its report on ‘The state of the adult social care sector and workforce in England’ for 2023-24, providing key statistics and analysis of the state of social care in the country.

There are a number of positive takeaways from the report, and notable improvements to the state of the sector compared to the figures in Searching for Consensus, our report on social care published in June this year.

Encouragingly, the turnover rate decreased from 29.1% in 2022-23, to 24.8% in 2023-24. Furthermore, the vacancy rate has fallen from 9.9% to 8.3%. Pay has also improved across the board, with the median hourly rate for carers increasing by 89p, or 8.8% since March 2023. These are promising trends, and it’s essential they continue to ensure people receive the care they need.

However, significant challenges remain. Vacancy rates are still too high; as Oonagh Smith, CEO of Skills for Care, states in her foreword: “we still have a lot of vacancies on any given day - and the vacancy rate for adult social care is still almost three times that of the wider economy.”

The decline in the domestic workforce is also a cause for concern. In Searching for Consensus, we urged all parties to support international recruitment, and the number of international workers starting work in the sector rose from 80,000 in 2022-23 to 105,000 in 2023-24, an increase of 31.2%. However, worryingly, in the same period, the number of British nationals working in the sector dropped from 1,220,000 to 1,190,000 – a drop of 30,000.

As we highlighted in June, international recruitment is keeping the sector afloat. Given the current political climate surrounding immigration, it’s crucial that the government does not restrict international recruitment without providing substantial support to help care organizations attract more domestic workers.

Finally, the report notes that if current demographic trends continue, England will need 540,000 extra care workers by 2040. If this need is to be met, it’s vital that the government listens to the policy recommendations we made in June.