Social care· Labour market Taking better care of our workers How can a Fair Pay Agreement improve conditions for social care staff? UpcomingThursday 11 December 2025 Adult social care is a vital public service. But this is not reflected in the pay and job quality on offer for England’s 1.6 million social care workers. Low-pay, zero-hours contracts, and breaches of labour market rules are worryingly widespread, and have contributed to a longstanding recruitment and retention crisis. The Government has rightly sought to address this by setting up a new Adult Social Care Negotiating Body (ASCNB), that brings together workers and employers to draw up a Fair Pay Agreement (FPA). But there are still big questions about how to turn this worthy ambition into deliverable improvements across the sector. SIGN UP
Social care· Public spending· Economy and public finances Nationally insured? Analysing the Government’s tax-raising plan to fund health and social care Wednesday 8 September 2021 Having promised a plan to reform social care and to not raise National Insurance in the 2019 General Election Manifesto, the Government has delivered on one promise, and broken the other, in spectacular fashion today. With over £30 billion worth of tax rises being announced in just six months, further funding for the NHS coming … Continued READ MORE
Social care Time to care? Prospects for social care reform post-pandemic Thursday 20 May 2021 For decades now, successive Governments have promised to reform the UK’s fraying social care system. But reform has not come. Delay and inaction has instead left the system closer to breaking point, and its failures have been devastatingly exposed during a crisis in which tens of thousands of care home residents have lost their lives. … Continued READ MORE
Living standards· Social care· Welfare Post-pandemic, post-Beveridge? Assessing the case for redesigning the welfare state Thursday 29 April 2021 Millions of us have been supported by social security during the pandemic, which has provided a living standards lifeline amid a deep economic shutdown. But the inadequacy of the UK’s benefit system has also been exposed. The Chancellor had to invent whole new kinds of income protection overnight and boost the basic level of benefits, … Continued READ MORE
Social care· Intergenerational Centre Tackling Britain’s care crisis What would a cross-party, long-term plan look like? Thursday 11 July 2019 How can we push forward a sustainable solution to Britain’s care crisis? Event with speakers including former Deputy Prime Minister Damian Green, former Shadow Minister for Care Liz Kendall, and former Minister for Care Norman Lamb. READ MORE
