Creating an adult social care strategy for Cornwall

Atkinson, Carol ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3795-7442, Baloyo, Mary Joy ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5391-9828, Willocks, Katie and Black, Paula (2024) Creating an adult social care strategy for Cornwall. In: Delivering Better Care. Research Report. Manchester Metropolitan University.

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Abstract

‘Creating an adult social care strategy for Cornwall’ presents a rapid evidence review of relevant policy and academic evidence, together with analyses of Cornwall’s current adult social care workforce to inform an adult social care workforce strategy for the independent sector. Adult social care makes a vital social and economic contribution in Cornwall. In social terms, the sector supports a large number of older or vulnerable people. In economic terms, in 2022-23, the sector contributed £606 million GVA to Cornwall’s economy, an increase of 5.9% on 2021-2 and is one of the largest employers in the county. It experiences, however, similar workforce challenges to the rest of England, with the addition of some regionally specific challenges, including a high cost of living, expensive accommodation, lack of reliable public transport and hard to reach rural areas, and poor digital connectivity. These factors make recruitment into a low-paid sector difficult, especially against a backdrop of significant competition from other sectors and in particular seasonal demand in tourism and hospitality. Yet significant growth is required. Forecasts demonstrate that, to match the growing demand for adult social care in Cornwall, the independent sector workforce will need to grow in the region of 30-35% by 2035. The underlying premise of the report is the need to create good work in the sector. This includes the offer of fair pay, secure employment, training, qualifications and career progression opportunities, worker recognition and involvement in decision making. Parity with the NHS for similar roles is essential, as are place based solutions to the particular labour market challenges that Cornwall experiences. Good work will both attract workers to and retain them in the adult social care sector, but the scale of the task in achieving this should not be under-estimated.