Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to tackle staffing shortages in the care sector.

The adult social care workforce is growing, with Skills for Care data showing that in 2023/24 there were 1.705 million filled posts, an increase of 70,000 since 2022/23. Whilst this represents an improvement, the Government recognises the scale of reforms needed to make the adult social care sector attractive, to support sustainable workforce growth, and to improve the retention of the workforce.

On 10 October 2024, recognising the central role of our amazing care workforce, we took a critical step, introducing the legislation that will establish the first ever Fair Pay Agreement for care professionals. Fair Pay Agreements will empower worker, employer, and other sector representatives to negotiate pay, terms, and conditions in a regulated and responsible manner. Fair Pay Agreements will help to address the recruitment and retention crisis in the sector, in turn supporting the continued delivery of high-quality care.