Responding to the King's Speech, Nuffield Trust Deputy Director of Policy Natasha Curry said:
“The measures on employment rights in today’s King’s Speech have potential to help attract more people to work in the social care sector. However, the government needs to press on with a major reform to social care so that those staff can support more people as part of a stable, thriving service.
“We very much welcome the idea of a fair pay agreement – action on pay is needed urgently to address high vacancies and high turnover, and retain the right skilled people. Our report tomorrow with the Health Foundation [1] will lay out just how overdue strategic action is, and provide examples of ambitious policies. The lack of consistent sick pay in adult social care was a major issue during Covid, forcing staff who were unwell to lose out if they did the right thing and stayed at home. Our research called out this failing [2] and addressing it will mean not only that workers are treated more decently, but also that we are better prepared for any future pandemic.
“Cracking down on exploitative contracts is right, given the poor working terms and conditions widespread in the sector. However, the hard reality is that adult social care has become reliant on zero hours contracts and some workers value the flexibility, and so there needs to be a careful, cautious, approach here that seeks to improve terms and conditions without suddenly destabilising the sector.
“A more strategic approach to building up skills alongside migration is a good idea – we have had years of wild swings in migration alongside consistently too few domestic workers. However, we can’t overlook the big issues that were not mentioned today. They don’t need Royal Commissions or laws, but they do need political courage and action. The financial state of councils is terrible and they have absolutely no certainty to plan this vital public service even into next year. Social care as a whole still has tight eligibility criteria that leave out many people who need support in a postcode lottery, and the costs fall on individuals without fairness or limitation. Fixing one hole in the boat won’t keep us afloat: we need comprehensive reform. [3]”
Notes to editors
- For more detail on our report, including an embargoed press release, contact press.office@nuffieldtrust.org.uk
- Our report Building a resilient social care system in England: What can be learnt from the first wave of Covid-19? explored why social care in England faced such struggles at the initial height of the covid-19 pandemic. It found that the lack of sick pay was a crucial issue, and not properly taken into account.
- Our recent adult social care briefing sets out a comprehensive agenda of reform for the government, and how this could be prioritised to make progress quickly.