Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will take steps to ensure that agency care workers receive appropriate and accredited training to meet the needs of vulnerable service users.

We have understood that the term care agencies refers to employment agencies. Care providers are required to be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) where they carry out a regulated activity, as described in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. However, employment agencies do not usually carry out regulated activity and as such do not typically need to be registered.

Providers such as care homes and those providing domiciliary care do typically carry out regulated activity and therefore are registered with the CQC. The CQC requires all health and social care providers registered with them to deploy enough suitably qualified, competent, and experienced staff, including both registered and unregistered professionals. This requirement applies where that provider chooses to recruit staff via employment agencies.

It is therefore the responsibility of the regulated provider to ensure robust and safe recruitment practices are in place, and to make sure that all staff, including agency staff, are suitably experienced, competent, and able to carry out their role.

To support providers to do so, the Department provides reimbursement towards the cost of training and qualifications through the Adult Social Care Learning and Support Scheme, backed by up to £12 million in funding this financial year.