Local authority leaders have repeated their call for a dedicated social care workforce plan in response to a warning from the Care Quality Commission that councils are struggling to meet rising demand.
The CQC’s annual assessment of the state of health and adult social care in England found that new requests for adult social care support had risen by 3% between 2020/21 and 2021/22, reaching almost two million.
However, of the requests made for services, 568,685 did not result in additional support, an increase of over 4%.
A further 522,850 received only universal services or were advised to contact non-council services, such as the voluntary sector, an increase of 2% on the previous year.
The CQC warned that the increased pressures on the health and social care system risks ‘unfair care’, with longer waits, reduced access and poorer outcomes for some.
Ian Trenholm, CQC’s chief executive, said a national workforce strategy was needed to raise the status of the adult social care workforce.
Responding to the report, Cllr David Fothergill, chairman of the Local Government Association’s (LGA) Community Wellbeing Board, said: ‘As this important report highlights yet again, social care needs a dedicated workforce plan to address the recruitment and retention crisis, especially as we approach winter, including action on staff pay, conditions, skills, training, and development.’
