The Care Workers’ Charity responds to CQC’s State of Care Report
Following the publication of the Care Quality Commission’s State of Care 2024/25 report, The Care Workers’ Charity (CWC) is calling for urgent action to address the deepening crisis in social care, warning that underinvestment and workforce pressures continue to threaten the safety, stability, and dignity of care in England.
The report paints a picture of a system stretched to breaking point. In both care homes and homecare services, providers are struggling to recruit and retain enough staff to meet people’s needs safely. Vacancy rates in homecare remain just over 10%, while staffing shortages in residential care have led to rising reliance on temporary agency staff and inconsistent continuity for people drawing on care. At the same time, commissioning and funding pressures mean providers are being asked to do more with less. Balancing complex care needs against shrinking budgets and fragmented contracts.
The CQC’s findings also expose the human cost behind these numbers: care workers facing burnout, emotional exhaustion, and discrimination in the workplace. One in three report experiencing or witnessing race-based discrimination, and 40% say it affects the quality of care delivered. Low pay, insecure hours, and a lack of recognition remain key drivers of staff turnover, particularly in frontline roles.
These realities are echoed in The Care Workers’ Charity’s own 2024 Wellbeing Report, which found that 78% of care workers experience work-related stress, 63% have considered leaving the sector, and 47% said financial insecurity is their greatest source of anxiety. More than 70% reported feeling undervalued by society, and over half said they lacked access to mental health or wellbeing support through their employer.
Karolina Gerlich, CEO of The Care Workers’ Charity, said, “the State of Care report lays bare what care workers already know. You cannot deliver quality care without caring for the workforce. Behind every statistic is a person. A care worker who goes above and beyond despite being undervalued, underpaid, and overstretched.
The findings reinforce what we see every day through our grants and wellbeing programmes – that exhaustion, low morale, and financial insecurity are driving good people out of the profession. The government’s proposed Fair Pay Agreement offers a glimmer of hope, but 2027 or 2028 feels a long time to wait when so many care workers are struggling to make ends meet today. Fair pay cannot remain a distant promise; it is a moral and economic necessity that must be brought forward as a matter of urgency.
We also need a lasting national commitment to workforce wellbeing and career development so that care work is not just seen as a job, but as a valued and respected profession. The CQC’s findings on discrimination show that we need cultural change too: a sector that values equality, respect, and compassion not only for the people receiving care, but for those providing it.
The link between workforce wellbeing and care quality is undeniable. Investment in care must mean investment in the people who deliver it. Without this, the social care system will continue to struggle, and those who rely on it will continue to be let down.”
The Care Workers’ Charity continues to advocate for a National Care Service built on parity of esteem between health and social care, ensuring fair terms, pay, and conditions for all care workers. The charity provides crisis grants, mental health and wellbeing support, and sector advocacy to improve the lives of care workers across the UK.
For further information please contact Sophie Henry at The Care Workers’ Charity on sophie@thecwc.org.uk.