Research into the ageing experiences of different migrant groups shows a need for more culturally appropriate delivery of public services

The recognition of an increasingly multicultural and ageing population has led to a growing policy interest in how different migrant groups experience the ageing process within European cities. Shereen Hussein reports on research into the perceptions and needs associated with old age among Turkish communities in London

Who cares for the family carers of adults and older people?

Little is known about those employed to support family carers of disabled people or those with long term care needs. The term 'carer' is used in England to refer to family members and others who provide unpaid regular and substantial support to adults with disabilities, including older people and others unable to live independently. Among the wider social care workforce some staff are employed to provide support for these carers but little is known about the composition and characteristics of this group of staff. The findings reported in this article are derived from quantitative secondary analysis of the National Minimum Data Set for Social Care (NMDS-SC; n=499,034), which collects data from social care employers and reported to Skills for Care. This data set included information about the characteristics of the workforce employed to support carers and the organisations that employ them to do so. Our analysis showed that this support workforce is mostly female, with a large number of part-time employees who are based in organisations with significantly higher turnover and vacancy rates than other organisations providing social care. Staff supporting family carers appear to be better qualified and to have longer experience within the care sector than other social care workers.From these findings we conclude that this support workforce may be affected by staff shortages themselves and that high staff turnover rates may undermine the continuity of support given to family carers leading to problems for existing staff. We argue that developing the potential of social care staff to support family carers requires specific attention from social care employers and policy makers

Reported reasons for job shifting in the English care sector

With the projected increase in social care jobs from 24% to 65% by 2025, it is fundamental to improve current staff retention and maintain quality and skills. This is particularly important with the changing nature of care work and the increased emphasis placed by the government on workforce skills and training levels. The current issue of SCWP provides a picture of care workforce stability and job shifting patterns using NMDS-SC returns up to end of 2009. The current data provide valuable information on the perception of a large sample of all social care employers on the rarely examined topic of patterns of job shifting among the care workforce. One of the main findings of the current analysis is that a large percentage of leavers remain within the sector, or in related sectors such as health, while very small proportions are perceived to be leaving for the retail sector. This indicates job rather than occupation switching, and implies that occupation embeddedness is present within the care sector. However, the analysis highlights important sectoral differences in perceived reasons for leaving care jobs. More staff from the private sector leave their jobs due to concerns over pay and unfavourable organization conditions, confirming results related to pay presented in Issues 6 and 7 of this Periodical

Pay in the adult social care in England

Pay in the care sector forms a cornerstone of debates about social care and many researchers have argued that continued low pay has contributed to the care sector's position within the secondary labour market. The aim of this issue is to provide the most accurate possible information on different pay scales for different jobs performed within the care sector in England. It explores trends and variations in pay level, during 2009, in relation to different macro and micro level characteristics. The analysis uses pay data extracted from the National Minimum Data Set for Social Care (NMDS-SC) database up until the end of 2009 providing information on 108,745 adult social care workers

Social Work Qualifications and Regulation in European Economic Area (EEA)

The General Social Care Council and Skills for Care and Development commissioned Dr Shereen Hussein, of King's College London, to conduct a short piece of research on social work qualifications and regulations in the European Economic Area (EEA). The research, including collecting primary data and documentary analysis, was conducted from early January to March 2011. Section 61 of the Care Standards Act 2000 protected the title of 'social worker'; making it an offence for an individual to describe oneself as a social worker, with intention to deceive, if not registered with the care councils in England and Wales. Section 54 established the General Social Care Council (GSCC) for England and the Care Council for Wales (CCW), and gave them general powers, which may be subject to direction by the appropriate Minister. These included an express power for the Councils to co-operate with other public authorities in the United Kingdom and outside

Modelling pay in adult care using linear mixed-effects models

This issue builds on the pay analysis presented in Issue 6 of SCWP, taking the investigation a step further. The current analysis examines the complexity and interactions of pay variations within the adult social care sector using multilevel modelling. The analysis is based on NMDS-SC, December 2009, using a total of 88,982 records of adult care workers with complete pay information. The analysis uses mixed-effect regression modelling to account for the hierarchical effects of region, sector and employer on pay levels among different job role groups within the adult care sector