Chairman Of ICG And Saint Cecilia’s Care Group Welcomes CQC “State Of Care” Report
The Independent Care Group (ICG), which represents independent adult social care providers across North Yorkshire and York, has welcomed the publication of the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) annual State of Care report for 2024/25 – calling it a “clear and urgent warning” about the fragility of the health and social care system.
Mike Padgham, Chair of the ICG and Saint Cecilia’s Care Group in Scarborough, commented:
“We very much welcome this report because it reflects the truth of what care providers experience every day. It gives national recognition to the growing crisis we have been lobbying about for many years – chronic underinvestment, workforce shortages, and a lack of joined-up commissioning between health and social care. The regulator’s findings confirm what our members have long been saying: the system is fragmented, fragile, and struggling to meet rising demand. Without decisive action, we risk seeing the gap widen between the care people need and what the system can deliver.”
CQC report highlights growing strain on care and mental health services
The CQC’s State of Care report warns that England’s health and care system is “under severe strain” and faces decline without sustained investment in community-based services.
It highlights that limited capacity in homecare, residential, and community mental health services continues to block progress in moving care closer to home – a goal widely supported across the sector.
A companion report from Skills for Care reveals vacancy rates of around 7%, representing some 90,000 posts unfilled across England, and forecasts the need for nearly half a million additional care roles by 2040.
Together, these findings underline that the current system cannot continue without meaningful reform and investment.
Call for action: funding, workforce, and commissioning reform
Mr Padgham urged Government to act swiftly and decisively on three key priorities:
- Sustainable funding – “Adult social care needs a long-term funding settlement, not annual patch-ups. Realistic commissioning fees, fair pay, and investment in prevention are essential.”
- Recruitment and retention – “The workforce crisis demands national coordination, improved pay and conditions, clear career pathways, and recognition of social care as a skilled, vital profession.”
- Commissioning reform – “Commissioning must enable providers to innovate, collaborate, and focus on outcomes, not just cost-control.”
He added: “The Secretary of State’s commitment to moving care from hospital to the community is right in principle – but it will fail in practice unless resources follow. You cannot move care into the community if the community workforce and services are not funded to receive it. Some of the NHS’s vast resources must be redirected into social care to make this shift a reality.”
Mr Padgham said: “We have been calling for reform for many years, and the CQC’s findings now reinforce our message with powerful evidence. It is time for Government to listen and act – the cost of inaction will be felt not only across social care, but right across the NHS and in every family that relies on these vital services.”
