Social care leaders have welcomed announcements by Health and Social Care Secretary Yvette Cooper at the Labour Party Conference, including plans for a national collective pension scheme, an adult social care workforce plan and new opportunities to attract young people into the sector.
The announcements mark an important step towards addressing workforce challenges, with sector representatives highlighting the need for care workers and providers to help shape the proposals and ensure they are backed by the investment needed to make a lasting difference.
Focusing on recruitment within social care
Liz Jones, Deputy CEO and Policy Director at the National Care Forum (NCF), said:
“We’re delighted that measures to strengthen workforce stability and improve the experience of care workers at both the beginning and end of their careers, featured prominently in Yvette Cooper’s speech to the Labour party conference today.
“We welcome the government’s intention to implement an adult social care workforce plan. We would urge government to build on the fully formed adult social care workforce strategy which was coordinated by Skills for Care and developed in co-production with the entire sector. This strategy includes recommendations that are already driving progress to improve care workforce sustainability.
“It is gratifying to see government getting behind moves to attract more young people into careers in care. We support the outlined plans for work academy programmes that will signpost opportunities for job seekers looking for professional pathways to enable their talents and passions to flourish. This programme will need to be fully resourced, and its success will rely on government drawing on insights and experiences from care providers. Funding should also be allocated to recompense providers for any employment schemes they are expected to support to help map clear routes that will enable new joiners to start work well.
Focusing on workforce retention
Gerard Crofton-Martin, Interim Chief Executive at the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE), said:
“This is very welcome news for a workforce that has been undervalued for far too long. Adult social care employs around 1.6 million people and contributes almost £78 billion to the wider economy, but the picture overall is still one of a workforce in critical condition.
“High vacancy and turnover rates characterise the sector, making it harder to provide high-quality care and support. Despite this, the skill and dedication shown every day by carers, both paid and unpaid, hold our sector together, enabling people up and down the country to live fulfilling and independent lives.
“Fair pay, clearer career pathways, investment in training and development, and a collective pension scheme could be transformative in helping to attract and retain the workforce we need to meet the growing demand for social care.
“Taken together with the Prime Minister’s commitment to a person-centred, high-quality and home-first National Care Service, these announcements pave the way for a more sustainable future for both the people who work in social care and the people who rely on it.”
Focusing on workforce pressures
Professor Martin Green OBE, Chief Executive of Care England, said:
“Care workers spend their whole working lives planning, protecting and providing for other people’s futures. Today, government confirmed it will finally do the same for theirs, and Care England fully supports it.
“Our analysis with COHIBL found that pension scheme members in this sector are around 20% more likely to retire below the minimum living standard than workers in other industries, and that’s before counting everyone who’s opted out altogether. That’s the picture a collective pension scheme can now start to fix, and fixing it means care can finally become the career people build a whole life on, not just a job they leave.
“The Prime Minister said yesterday that he’s sorry his profession let ours down for so long, and that he won’t leave the job without changing things for care workers. That’s exactly the kind of ambition this sector needs, and Care England is ready to match it. We have done extensive research into the pressures facing this workforce, and we have credible, evidence-based policy solutions ready for government to act on, just as it has today. We’re ready to build on that with government, starting now.”
Focusing on the future
Karolina Gerlich, Chief Executive of The Care Workers’ Charity, said:
“Today care workers heard a Health and Social Care Secretary talk about their retirement, not just their pay. This is a welcome discussion but foundations only count if they are built well. We invite Yvette Cooper to design the pension scheme and the workforce plan with care workers from day one, through our Advisory Board and Champions Project. Care workers are ready to help build this, and so are we.”
The announcements have been welcomed as an opportunity to strengthen the social care workforce, but their impact will depend on how they are developed and delivered. Continued engagement with care workers and providers, alongside appropriate funding and clear implementation plans, will be essential to turning the commitments into meaningful improvements in recruitment, career development and financial security.
To find out further information on suggestions for workforce development, please read Care Talk Magazine’s whitepaper from Summer 2026 here – Roundtable Discussion – ESG in Social Care: From Compliance to Culture
