England has no register of care workers or statutory workforce body

Scotland's SSSC and Social Care Wales register care workers by statute, with Welsh registration mandatory from 30 September 2026. England registers only social workers. Skills for Care, a charity with no statutory remit, holds the workforce dataset and led the 2024 Workforce Strategy, and the DHSC Care Workforce Pathway remains voluntary. Nothing gives England's roughly 1.6 million care workers portable credentials, enforceable standards or a recognised career ladder.

The first Fair Pay Agreement, from 2028, will set pay and conditions for a workforce England cannot individually identify or credential. Registration underpins enforcement of the agreement, safeguarding, delegated healthcare tasks and the case for training investment. Persistent high vacancies make the absence more costly each year.

A statutory registration scheme for adult social care workers in England, by extending Social Work England's remit or creating a new registrar, legislated alongside the Fair Pay Agreement secondary legislation. Statutory footing and funding for the Care Workforce Pathway and a national training entitlement travel with it, and Casey phase 1 is the natural vehicle to recommend the package.

// State-led: Instrument: statutory registration scheme legislated alongside FPA secondary legislation, extending Social Work England or creating a new registrar.

England's 1.6 million care workers stay unidentified as the pay-agreement machinery advances, a charity holds the only data, and the fix needs primary legislation.