Increasing pressures on the mental health social care workforce and difficulties in some parts of the sector offering social care related support due to workforce issues are well-known. Although the Community Mental Health Framework is a significant opportunity, it also presents challenges for the sector which require careful planning informed by up-to-date intelligence.

Developing the Mental Health Social Care Workforce is a paper which aims to initiate a discussion about how better strategic action on workforce across social health and at the interface between health and social care can take place.

The key topics to note include:

• The opportunities and implications of the Community Mental Health Framework for workforce development of the social care workforce.
• The contribution of mental health social care workforce to mental health and community support.
• How well placed is the social care sector to respond to new policy demands for more integrated place-based workforce plans.
• The case for integrated workforce planning and the enablers to this for social care at national, regional and place levels.

This paper aims to:

• Explore some of the opportunities and implications of the Community Mental Health Framework for workforce development of the social care workforce
• Consider the complexity of the mental health social care workforce and the contribution it makes to mental health and community support.
• Consider how well placed the social care sector is to respond to new policy demands for more integrated place-based workforce plans.
• Discuss the case for integrated workforce planning in the context of new policy demands for place-based care and consider the barriers and enablers to this for social care at national, regional and place levels.