Adult social services workforce figures ‘deeply worrying’
New workforce statistics published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) have been described as ‘deeply worrying’ by charity Independent Age.
The report shows that two thirds of councils in England reduced the number of posts in their adult social service departments between 2013 and 2014.
In September 2014 there were 130,1004 jobs in adult social services in councils in England. This represented an overall decrease of 10,600 (eight per cent) from 140,700 posts in September 2013. Since 20115 the total number of council adult social services jobs has decreased from 159,400 at a fairly constant rate of approximately 10,000 jobs per year.
Of the 152 English councils responsible for adult social services, 101 reduced the number of adult social services jobs between 2013 and 2014, another 46 saw an increase, and the remaining five reported no change.
Among the 76 councils which gave reasons for reductions, the top reason was restructure (cited by 54 councils as a factor in the reduction of 6,300 jobs), followed by outsourcing (18 councils, 4,500 jobs) and then redundancies (16 councils, 2,400 jobs).
Simon Bottery, director of policy at the charity Independent Age, said: “These figures from the HSCIC show that over 20,000 careworker jobs have been lost in councils since 2011.
“Most care services depend upon people – they cannot be performed by machines or carried out remotely – so the loss of this number of jobs is deeply worrying and illustrates starkly the fact that around 360,000 fewer elderly people are now receiving care from their councils compared to five years ago.
“Combined with the rise in careworker jobs in the private and voluntary sectors, the figures confirm that many council care services are being contracted out and some abandoned altogether, with many older people no longer eligible for council support funding their own care directly from private care agencies.
“The reduction in qualified social worker jobs also raises question marks over councils’ ability to properly implement the Care Act when it comes into force in April, requiring them to carry out many more assessments than previously as more people become eligible for funding and register with their councils to count spending towards the ‘cap’ on care cost which will come into force in 2016.”
The report also shows:
- Over a quarter (28 per cent) of jobs were filled by workers aged 55 or over. The average age of the workforce in 2014 was 47 years old, unchanged since 2011.
- Women made up 82 per cent7 of the adult social services workforce in 2014, a proportion that is unchanged from 2011, 2012 and 2013.
- The majority (86 per cent) of the workforce was white, with 14 per cent from black and minority ethnic groups.
Download the full report here: http://www.hscic.gov.uk/pubs/pssstaffsept14
