In Parliament, I’ve pressed the government to take seriously a report produced by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Social Care, of which I’m Joint Chair. This report focused on the professionalisation of the workforce, and, in particular, the undervaluing of the workforce in pay, training and qualifications.

Our report collected evidence suggesting that as many as 500,000 carers have no training and many more are paid under £9 an hour. In addition, there is no accredited qualification for social care workers and, instead, training is largely handled by individual care providers.

To improve the quality of care, the report calls for a new, standardised, well-funded training and career development programme. We’ve also recommended that a new national care body with NHS affiliation is established. We want to see greater integration between social care and NHS services, with care workers given equal status as NHS staff.

It now falls on the government to implement our suggestions and create a social care system that is fair to both workers and those who receive care.