Responding to the announcement of the new Adult Social Care Negotiating Body in England, RCN Associate Director of Employment Relations Brian Morton, said:

“A sector-wide negotiating body for adult social care in England is a significant step forward and something the RCN has been calling for. Nursing and other staff in social care have experienced poorer pay, terms and conditions without the collective bargaining structures to raise their voice in direct negotiations.

“Today there remains a crisis in adult social care. Nursing staff are leaving the sector or choosing to work elsewhere, turnover and vacancy levels remain high, creating pressures in services which leave some of the most vulnerable missing out on the care they need.

“Fair pay agreements cannot be delivered on goodwill alone. The government must ensure there is sufficient and sustainable funding for adult social care to support meaningful negotiations and implementation of any agreements reached. Without investment, there is a real risk that aspirations for higher pay and better employment standards will not be matched by the resources needed to deliver them.

“Fair pay agreements have the potential to help the sector by ensuring workforce pay, terms and conditions are a key priority in supporting the delivery of high-quality nursing and care. The setting up of this new body and the current review by Baroness Casey must be part of urgent and sustained action to support and grow the workforce, which has tens of thousands of vacant posts and has seen a decline in the number of registered nurses, who are so crucial to delivering safe and effective care to people with complex needs.”

Ends

Notes to editors - Department of Health and Social Care - Care workers to be represented in Fair Pay Agreements