Fall in number of personal assistants ‘a significant concern’, warns sector body

A cut in the number of personal assistants (PAs) in the adult social care workforce is a “significant concern”, a sector body has said.

The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) issued the warning after Skills for Care’s annual report on the workforce showed the number of PAs working in England fell from 130,000 to 123,000 (5.4%) from 2022-23 to 2023-24, the largest decrease of any role over this time.

PAs are employed by people with care and support needs who use direct payments, and their roles can include providing personal care, supporting with tasks around the house and helping people access the community, social activities, education or employment.

Reducing number of PAs and high vacancy rate

The reduction in their number over the past year continued a year-on-year trend dating back to 2018-19, when 145,000 PAs were in post.

Skills for Care also found that the vacancy rate for PAs was higher than for any other role, at 11%, in 2023-24. Though this was a reduction from the 11.4% recorded in 2022-23, the overall vacancy rate across the workforce fell much more steeply – from 9.9% to 8.3% – over the same period.

SCIE, which provides consultancy and training on improving social care services, said the trend raised concerns about the level of choice people had over their support.

‘A significant concern’ – SCIE

“The decrease in the number of personal assistants is a significant concern due to the crucial role they play in providing personalised support,” said its chief executive, Kathryn Smith.

“The continued reduction could limit options for those requiring care, resulting in unmet needs. Combined with the wider workforce pressures, it highlights that people who employ personal assistants must not be left behind as part of government reform measures.”

The number of people using direct payments in England increased slightly in 2022-23, but, at 117,500, was 9,700 down on the number receiving payments in 2015-16 (source: King’s Fund).

Reflecting this, the number of direct payment recipients employing their own staff fell from 75,000 in 2018-19 to 65,000 in 2023-24, said Skills for Care.

More recruitment challenges for direct payment users

Over half of individual employers surveyed by Skills for Care earlier this year (53%) said they were finding recruiting PAs more challenging than was the case the previous year, compared with 11% who were finding it less challenging.

The most common issue was a shortage of suitable applicants, which was cited by 43% of those who said recruitment had gotten more challenging.

Retention was less of a problem, with 19% of employers saying it had gotten more challenging, 23% less challenging and 59% equally so.

Of PAs who responded to the same survey, 54% said their employer was a family member or friend.

According to Skills for Care’s annual report, PAs were much less likely to work full-time than other social care staff, with 15% of PA roles being so, compared with 55% of all job in the sector. However, PA roles were slightly less likely to involve a zero-hours contract (19%) than the average for the workforce (23%).

The average number of sick days in 2023-24 was far lower for PAs (1.7 days) than for all job roles (5 days), while Skills for Care also found that median pay for PAs (£11.30 an hour) was slightly higher than for care workers in the independent sector (£11 an hour) in 2023-24.