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The focus of today’s announcement on developing the skills and knowledge of the 1.5 million people working in adult social care includes commitments to career pathways, continued professional development for adult social care’s regulated professionals, portability of qualifications and putting some infrastructure in place for the future. These things should all help with recruitment and retention – which are the biggest challenges for the sector.

We know that people working in care feel burnt out so, without the originally planned investment in wellbeing, it’s important that we still find a way to focus on supporting their wellbeing and mental health. Many of them continue to struggle with the aftermath of the pandemic.

As we work towards our vision of a fair and just society where people can access the services they need there is still a need for a workforce strategy for adult social care that offers a clear and properly funded plan of where we need to get to in the long-term. A focus on innovation and improvement is welcome, but we still need to make sure that we are given the time and enough resources to implement improvements as part of a coherent workforce package, including how we recognise and reward people working in care.