A DRIVE to recruit 110,000 extra carers has been welcomed by South Swindon MP Robert Buckland.

The government is launched a recruitment campaign to fill the England-wide carer shortage. In Swindon, it is estimated there are 4,400 vacancies in the adult social care sector.

Mr Buckland said: “I have met some of the care workers involved in this campaign, and heard first-hand what a rewarding, varied and worthwhile career adult social care can be.

“I fully support this campaign and am looking forward to seeing its impact on the number of vacancies in Swindon”

“By helping local employers recruit people with the right personal values for care work, our communities will be better supported by highly motivated and skilled workers.”

The £3m advertising campaign will run during March. Carers were invited to the House of Commons this week to launch the recruitment drive.

However, the campaign came under fire from Labour’s shadow social care minister. Barbara Keeley said the government had failed to fix the root cause of staff shortages. It showed a “stunning lack of self-awareness” from ministers: “Nine years of crushing cuts to councils’ funding at a time of unprecedented demand for social care has ground down the wages, terms and conditions of a high-skilled, overworked and underpaid workforce."