‘Investing in social care and its staff is an investment in people’: CCPS publishes Workforce Priorities report

CCPS has today published its Workforce Priorities 2026 report, highlighting the most urgent risks, needs and opportunities facing Scotland’s social care workforce, and offering recommendations for next steps.   

The report, prepared for the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) and the Qualifying the Adult Social Care Workforce National Group (QASC), summarises findings from two discussion sessions held with our members, the first bringing together adult social care providers and the second providers working with children and young people.

Read the report

We found that social care and support professionals draw immense emotional reward from their work, gaining huge satisfaction from being part of important relationships and supporting a person’s fulfilment. Yet structural barriers such as funding, pay, conditions, and public perception are undermining the sustainability of the workforce. As the report notes: “Emotional fulfilment cannot sustain a system without structural support.” 

Our research found that high turnover and retention remain significant problems for the sector. Low pay was a key issue in this regard, with participants lamenting that potential candidates for a career in social care can earn more working in retail with fewer responsibilities. 

“Social care must be understood for its significant and tangible contribution to individual, family, community and economic wellbeing. Investing in social care and its staff is an investment in people.” 

Despite government commitments to fair work, a lack of parity between third sector and public sector-funded roles is increasing, meaning our members are unable to compete on salaries. In 2019, the difference in pay between not-for-profit social care workers and their NHS equivalents stood at £2,400; this disparity increased to £3,770 by April 2025. 

Members stressed the need for parity of esteem, with decision-makers better understanding and expressing the complexity, regulatory demands and ongoing learning required in social care roles. As the report says: “Social care must be understood for its significant and tangible contribution to individual, family, community and economic wellbeing. Investing in social care and its staff is an investment in people.” 

Participants in the research sessions also identified flat organisational hierarchies as a hindrance to recruitment and retention. Decades of underfunding means the additional responsibilities of more senior roles cannot be recognised by pay differentials, making social care a less attractive long-term career choice. 

What’s more, the number of Health and Care Worker visas for those in a Caring Personal Service Occupation being granted has fallen by 88% since changes to UK visa rules were introduced, further compounding the pressures faced by social care providers in recruitment.  

When it comes to learning, members stressed the need to review current qualification frameworks to better align training with real-world practice; address the lack of reciprocal recognition of international qualifications; and ensure education is properly funded. Participants working with children and young people specifically highlighted that the ambitions of The Promise cannot be met without sustained workforce investment and reported growing frustration that progress expectations outpace available resources. 

“Scotland’s social care workforce is built on compassion, expertise, and resilience. Yet the findings show that without reform and investment, these values risk being eroded by structural inequities and resource limitations,” the report concludes.  

“CCPS, with its members, are ready to work with national partners, using the recommendations in this report as a starting point so that we can, collectively, change the narrative and improve outcomes for the social care sector and the people it supports.”