Social care has been high on the political agenda for some time, but the Labour government is now signalling some significant changes to how the sector could look in the years ahead.

For care providers, the big question is not simply "What is the government changing?"

It is "What does this mean for the way we run our services?"

A bigger focus on the care workforce

On 29 July, Prime Minister Andy Burnham set out plans to reform adult social care, with a particular focus on the workforce. The government wants to improve pay, training, job security and career progression, while bringing health and social care workforces closer together.

There are also plans for the first Fair Pay Agreement for adult social care workers, with the government looking at how this could develop into wider improvements around pay and progression.

This could be a positive step for a sector that has struggled with recruitment and retention for years.

But it also means care providers will need to understand their workforce better than ever.

The workforce challenge is not going away

The latest Skills England assessment estimates that adult social care could require around 685,000 workers by 2035, including workers needed to replace those leaving the sector.

That is a huge workforce to recruit, train, manage and retain.

It makes effective workforce planning increasingly important.

Care providers need to know where their staffing gaps are, which employees need training, who is approaching a compliance deadline, where absence is affecting the rota and how much they are relying on agency workers.

Technology could become part of the answer

Government reform cannot fix every challenge facing social care.

But better workforce management can help providers make the most of the people they already have.

That is where technology has an important role.

JMS One brings recruitment, AI powered rota planning, compliance, training and appraisals, absence and leave, attendance, timesheets, payroll and agency management together in one platform.

Instead of workforce information being spread across spreadsheets, emails and different systems, managers can see what is happening across their workforce in one place.

The future of care is about people

The government has also accelerated the Casey Commission, which is now expected to report by summer 2027 and help shape longer term plans for a National Care Service.

There is still a lot that needs to be decided.

But one thing is already clear.

The future of social care depends on having a strong, supported and well managed workforce.

Technology will never replace the people who deliver care.

It should simply make it easier for those people to do their jobs.

At JMS One, that is what we believe workforce management should do.

Powering People. Perfecting Processes.

🧬 JMS One, Intelligent Workforce Management. It's in our DNA.