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Research examining poverty, deprivation and living standards among residential care workers in the UK.
Key statistics
Key messages
Policy implications
Gaps
Commentary
This report provides a stark account of the financial realities faced by residential care workers in the UK. By documenting high levels of poverty and food insecurity, it challenges assumptions that employment in care provides a stable route out of deprivation.
The findings highlight how poor pay and insecure conditions are embedded within the structure of residential care. As demand for care grows, these conditions risk undermining recruitment and retention, placing further strain on an already stretched workforce.
For care equity, the report exposes a contradiction at the heart of the care system. Workers who provide essential support to older and vulnerable people are themselves disproportionately affected by poverty and deprivation. These disparities are not incidental but reflect how care work is valued and funded, with implications for workforce wellbeing and continuity of care.
Overall, the report argues that improving outcomes for people who draw on residential care cannot be separated from improving the living and working conditions of the workforce. Addressing poverty among care workers is a prerequisite for building a fair, resilient and sustainable adult social care system.
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Analysis examining how social policies in England and Wales fail to address the needs of Autistic adults, focusing on barriers in health services and social care systems.
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A systematic review examining interventions designed to reduce inequities in dementia diagnosis and post-diagnostic care across multiple countries, focusing on individual, community and health system solutions.
A qualitative study examining how newly qualified social workers in England experience and respond to racism in practice, and how social work education prepares them to challenge racism in health and social care contexts.
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