Lifeways welcomes call for urgent action on social care recruitment
Lifeways has welcomed calls for the Government to address critical workforce shortages in adult social care in the wake of a new study into the looming crisis.
Andrea Kinkade, Chief Executive, supported Care England’s urgent appeal to ministers to:
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take action on policies which stifle international recruitment
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improve pay to ensure parity with NHS staff
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create a better funded, long-term workforce plan
It comes after the publication this week (October 2024) of Skills for Care’s State of the Adult Social Care Sector and Workforce in England 2024.
Andrea said: “I have been banging this drum for a long time. Our sector warmly welcomes immigration to the UK and, alongside countless other providers, we could not operate our services without hugely valuable migrant workers.
“But that is just one part of a bigger puzzle. We also need more focus on career pathways in the sector for workers currently living in the UK and make working in the care sector a vocation – and a viable career proposition for young people and people returning to work.
“This can only be done with better funding and pay parity across the sector, so we are at least in line with NHS colleagues.
“The people we support often have highly complex needs and our team members need to be highly skilled to deliver what they need. Yet, our sector does not recognise or reward them for this invaluable work. This needs to change and I warmly welcome Care England’s call for action.”
James Westwood-Beere, Lifeways’ Chief People Officer, also welcomed the call for action. He said: “The marketplace for social care is extremely challenging for organisations like us so it is fantastic to see Care England fighting the sector’s corner in this way.
“The route to obtaining a licence to provide sponsorship for team members in an organisation like ours can impact staff retention at a time when we need a depth of brilliant teams to ensure we deliver the best quality for the people we support.”
Care England’s key asks of the Government are:
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Reevaluate immigration policies that restrict overseas care workers from bringing dependents, to support international recruitment, address workforce shortages and ensure parity with NHS staff who are permitted to bring dependents
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Provide funding to align pay, working conditions, and recruitment benefits of social care workers with those of NHS staff to ensure fairness across the health and care sectors
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Recognise the sector’s £68 billion economic contribution, and increase investment to help social care grow, create jobs, and reduce long-term public sector costs, particularly in the NHS
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Consolidate intended reforms for adult social care within a fully funded, long-term workforce plan
Read the full response from Care England.
About Lifeways:
Lifeways is the UK’s largest team of support professionals providing support for adults in the community.
We support adults with diverse and complex needs, including learning disabilities, autism, physical disabilities, acquired brain injuries, and mental health conditions.
Lifeways delivers support across three divisions: supported living, residential and mental health services.
As the supported living sector’s largest team of professionals, Lifeways’ extensive experience and national reach mean we deliver extraordinary support to adults, enabling them to live fulfilling and independent lives in the community.
Our 11,000 colleagues currently support around 4,000 individuals who live in our 1,500 supported living and residential services across England, Scotland, and Wales.
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