Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department plans to publish a national plan for domestic recruitment, retention and career progression in the adult social care workforce.

The Government recognises the challenges concerning recruitment and retention within the adult social care sector, which is why – as well as continuing to roll out the Care Workforce Pathway – we will introduce the first ever Fair Pay Agreement for that workforce in 2028, backed by £500 million of funding to improve pay and conditions.

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care also announced in September that we would build on the Fair Pay Agreement by introducing the first ever pension scheme for the social care workforce, and bringing forward a social care workforce plan, focusing on routes for progression, better pay, training, and job security.

The International Recruitment Regional Fund was introduced as a time-limited programme to support the adult social care sector during a period of significant workforce pressures. The current fund will end on 31 March 2027.