Damning report says the Government is failing to meet growing social care needs
The Department of Health and Social Care is failing to meet growing care demand, with the social care workforce facing shortages and high turnover.
A report by the National Audit Office finds that poor pay and conditions for carers are leading to a recruitment crisis, with the workforce needing to grow by 2.6% per year in order to meet demand up to 2035.
6.6% of the 1.34 million care jobs are vacant, a figure almost three times higher than the national average of 2.4-2.7%.
Prospective workers are deterred by low wages, with half of all carers paid £7.50 per hour or less.
Rather than developing a plan to increase the number of people employed in care, the public spending watchdog says that central government has neglected to develop any kind of national strategy or work with local authorities to prevent a crisis in the future.
Published: by Radio NewsHub