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Keyworkers' housing needs have rightly been made a priority by the government. No one would argue with the claims of nurses and teachers to benefit from the extra funding for affordable homes in the South East, announced in the comprehensive spending review.

However, the scope of the initiative is nowhere near broad enough. The independent care sector has a vital role to play in delivering improvements in delayed hospital discharge, preventing unnecessary admissions and providing integrated care solutions for older people. But while the significance of the sector's work in meeting these challenges has been recognised, its need for support in recruiting and retaining the front-line staff who actually deliver the care has not.


Under the current proposals, care workers in residential and nursing homes will not be eligible for new homes in the South East, where soaring property prices and high rents have put acute pressure on the affordable housing stock. For care providers, this poses a recruitment headache. Workers on shift rotas and low salaries want to live near the home. They want to avoid long journeys at unsociable hours and the cost of public transport or having to run a car. So in areas of high demand and high-cost housing, there is a dwindling pool of potential recruits.

Often the people who deliver the care simply cannot afford to live in the areas where they work. At the same time, increases in pay for public sector workers are creating labour markets where salary expectations are getting higher, but the fee levels for independent care providers are too low to finance comparable pay rises.

Older people have a right to expect the highest levels of care, and quality providers with good recruitment procedures and high training standards do find the staff committed to delivering it, even in areas where the cost of living is high. But including care home workers in the categories of those eligible for subsidised housing would act as a strong incentive for more people to work in the sector and for experienced staff to stay. It would also provide recognition of the value of care assistants in improving the quality of life for older people.


Because most staff who deliver public services in the South East have strong claims for more government support, arguing the case for care workers can sound like special pleading. But their role is crucial and should not be overlooked.

Julie Birtwistle is head of human resources at Anchor Homes, part of the Anchor Trust.