Responding to the government's announcement today of more funding for nursing in care homes, director of policy and strategy at NHS Providers Miriam Deakin said:

"The retrospective increase is a welcome acknowledgement of the impact of the pandemic on social care nurses and the many extra hours they put in last year in residential care settings.

"The increase in this year's rates is good to see too, while accepting that it will be lower in real terms than 11.5% after inflation is taken into account.

"All care workers deserve to be recognised and rewarded for their contribution alongside social care nurses. We are particularly keen that similar attention be paid to supporting care in people's homes, where there is a pressing need to increase capacity and to ensure that care providers can afford to offer wages which reflect the true value of these critical roles.

"While this is a welcome step, the number of registered nurses working in adult social care has been steadily declining over the past decade. We urgently need a longer-term solution to current workforce shortages across the health and care system."