Is regulation good for skill development? Mediating actors and workplace practice in adult social care in England

The Care Standards Act (2000) regulates the provision of care services in the UK, specifying induction and competence requirements for managers and workers, and that workers should have access to 3 days of training a year. Applying Dickens' concept of the mediation of regulation by workplace actors to five award-winning organisations providing adult social care services, the authors analyse factors contributing to positive mediation. They identify the significance of triggers for innovation which ‘run in the same direction’ as regulation, and of cosmopolitan actors whose innovatory practices and wider social networks link different levels and contribute to capacity building in the sector.