Oonagh Smyth: key facts
- Kind of voice
- Sector leader
- Role
- Chief executive of Skills for Care
- Quoted on
- Adult social care & reform, Elderly care & frailty, NHS & care workforce/staffing
- Tracked press citations
- 10
- Most recently quoted
- 30 Sept 2026
- First quoted
- 8 Sept 2026
“However, the longer-term picture remains difficult. Vacancy rates are still significantly higher than the wider economy, domestic workforce numbers are falling and there is no dedicated visa route for international recruitment – all of which highlight the scale of the challenge ahead.”
What Oonagh Smyth has said
“The 1.5 million adult social care workers deserve rewards that support recruitment and career progression. The fair pay agreement is a crucial step toward improving care roles and securing skilled staffing.”
CEO of Skills for Care · Adult social care & reform · 30 Sept 2026 · Care workers to be represented in fair pay agreements ↗
“As the government looks at how to strengthen the workforce through improvements to pay, training and support, it's essential that the experiences of people working in adult social care are part of the conversation. 'This survey gives everyone working in social care the opportunity to tell it how it is.'”
Chief Executive of Skills for Care · Elderly care & frailty · 29 Sept 2026 · Nurses asked for views on pay, wellbeing and work life in government survey ↗
“As the government looks at how to strengthen the workforce through improvements to pay, training and support, it's essential that the experiences of people working in adult social care are part of the conversation. This survey gives everyone working in social care the opportunity to tell it how it is.”
Skills for Care chief executive officer · Adult social care & reform · 29 Sept 2026 · Care workers invited to share experiences ↗
“International recruits are a welcome and much-needed addition to our workforce, and it is important that we treat them with the respect and gratitude they deserve. But this type of recruitment is vulnerable to recent immigration policy changes, the effects of which it is still too early to understand.”
Chief Executive of Skills for Care · Adult social care & reform · 8 Sept 2026 · International recruitment ‘masking’ fall in British social care workers ↗
“It was "encouraging" the vacancy rate has fallen. "But we can't afford to be complacent as some of this will be down to the fall in vacancies in the wider economy, which we know always benefits our sector. We need to protect ourselves from the wild swings in vacancy rates driven by the wider economic picture."”
chief executive of Skills for Care · Adult social care & reform · 8 Sept 2026 · In numbers: Social care will need 470,000 extra staff by 2040 ↗
“"We know what we need to do to tackle the challenges facing the adult social care sector and workforce"”
Chief executive of Skills for Care · NHS & care workforce/staffing · 8 Sept 2026 · Social care nurse vacancy rates fall but reliance on overseas ↗
“We are delighted to have been selected to deliver these two significant programmes of work, which will support the 1.5 million+ people working across adult social care in England. This investment recognises the essential role of the adult social care workforce and enables us to continue working with the sector to build the skills, confidence and capacity needed for the future.”
chief executive of Skills for Care · Adult social care & reform · 8 Sept 2026 · Skills for Care awarded two major DHSC contracts ↗
“The 1.5 million adult social care workers deserve rewards that support recruitment and career progression. The Fair Pay Agreement is a crucial step toward improving care roles and securing skilled staffing.”
CEO, Skills for Care · Adult social care & reform · 8 Sept 2026 · First-ever adult social care fair pay agreement announced ↗
“This planned fair pay agreement is a "significant step forward" for those that are "lowest paid in our economy". It's important the improvements in pay are part of a wider response to stabilising the workforce and supporting the sector to meet increasing needs.”
Chief executive of Skills for Care · Adult social care & reform · 8 Sept 2026 · £500m social care fair pay agreement branded a ‘bear trap’ ↗
Where Oonagh Smyth has been quoted
- Adult social care vacancy rate falls to lowest level in a decadecommunitycare.co.uk · 30 Sept 2026
- Care workers to be represented in fair pay agreementsgov.uk · 30 Sept 2026
- Nurses asked for views on pay, wellbeing and work life in government surveynursinginpractice.com · 29 Sept 2026
- Care workers invited to share experienceslaingbuissonnews.com · 29 Sept 2026
- International recruitment ‘masking’ fall in British social care workerslgcplus.com · 8 Sept 2026
- In numbers: Social care will need 470,000 extra staff by 2040lgcplus.com · 8 Sept 2026
- Social care nurse vacancy rates fall but reliance on overseasnursingtimes.net · 8 Sept 2026
- Skills for Care awarded two major DHSC contractscarehomeprofessional.com · 8 Sept 2026
- First-ever adult social care fair pay agreement announcedcarehomeprofessional.com · 8 Sept 2026
- £500m social care fair pay agreement branded a ‘bear trap’lgcplus.com · 8 Sept 2026
Related media coverage
Recent UK press coverage of their topics — not necessarily citing them directly.
Chief executives, directors and spokespeople of trade bodies, representative associations and charities speaking for the sector. Citations are counted by an automated scan of UK press coverage and may be incomplete. Roles, biographies and contact details are researched and human-reviewed before they appear here; anything not yet reviewed is simply absent rather than shown unverified. This profile was last updated on 5 Oct 2026. See the methodology for how this page is built, or email contact@bridgeheadcommunications.com to correct anything on it.