The National Care Forum (NCF) – the leading association for not-for-profit social care and support has responded to the publication of the Skills for Care’s state of the adult social care sector and workforce in England report for 2025.

Vic Rayner, NCF CEO commented:
“Skills for Care’s State of Care report highlights both the progress and persistent challenges facing the social care sector. It is encouraging to see workforce growth, falling vacancy rates, and reduced turnover; all of which deserve celebration. Yet the report also underlines the fragility of our care system; a system still struggling to recruit and retain the sustainable domestic workforce needed to meet the current and future demands of an ageing population.

“Much of the recent improvement has been driven by international recruitment, over this last year with 50,000 new international recruits joined our workforce. However, with tighter immigration restrictions now in place, the sector faces a stark reality: vacancy rates remain three times higher than the wider economy, tens of thousands of British workers leaving the sector each year, and demand only set to rise. Without urgent action to build capacity at home, the progress we see in this report risks being short?lived.

“One of the clearest ways forward is to improve pay, terms and conditions for our dedicated workforce. The report shows that experienced care workers earn barely more than new care workers; this is unsustainable. The government’s Fair Pay Agreement offers a vital opportunity to invest in the workforce, but it must be backed by long?term funding, robust infrastructure, and immediate interim measures.

“The government must work with the sector to deliver a sustainable workforce plan, that ensures we have the right people, with the right skills, in place for the future. The measures contained within the workforce strategy collectively created by a range of social care organisations, including Skills for Care, are a starting point the government can build upon. We need new future-focussed approaches that embrace the role of technology, that pay attention to the changing nature of care and support work, expertise of our care and support workforce and ultimately, what people need and want to live full and independent lives. The Chancellor’s Autumn Budget provides another opportunity to bring forward the resources to drive this work forward now, rather than waiting until a Fair Pay Agreement is in place.”