The year that was

By: Your Policy & Public Affairs Leads 07 January, 2026 Blog 7+ minute read

Reflecting on 2025 and what 2026 will hold

2025 demonstrated how occupational therapists can lead change across the UK. We made progress in work and health, advanced practice, education and research, and we shaped national conversations in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Looking ahead to 2026, we’re focused on schools, social care reform, accessible housing and prescribing. This blog outlines the milestones, campaigns and practical ways you can participate by joining RCOT Communities and engaging with events and conversations.

Explore your nation

England/UK

Wales

Northern Ireland

Scotland

How you can get involved

England / UK

Joe Brunwin is our UK Policy and Public Affairs Manager.

Follow @rcotpolicyuk.bsky.social on Bluesky to stay connected.

Key highlights from 2025

It was great to see RCOT colleagues leading from the front in 2025 – with Sally Payne and Karin Orman both giving evidence to parliamentary inquiries.

But what I found most powerful was seeing occupational therapists step into leadership and influencing roles – watching our Workforce Strategy come to life as a movement led by members.

In the spring, we launched our new Practice and Regional Networks on RCOT Communities. I’m loving the opportunity to work alongside our volunteers who are leading national conversations. Last year this included:

Social care OTs representing the profession at the Casey Commission in Westminster.
Kerry, our Palliative and End of Life Care Network Lead, speaking with MPs and Peers about what OTs need to help people towards the end of their lives.
OTs in Wakefield and Hackney Marshes hosting senior DWP and NHS England colleagues – showcasing the impact of occupational therapy in work and health when embedded in primary care.
Emma speaking to parliamentarians about the impact of the collapse of NRS Healthcare on occupational therapy services across England.

This year, we want even more members to get involved. The best way to do this is to join RCOT Communities, either as a volunteer or by having discussions on the platform.

Most impactful thing we did

Supporting people to remain in and thrive in work is a major government priority. Lots of people are dropping out of work because of mental and physical ill health. This affects their health, wellbeing and quality of life.

We’ve been letting governments know that OT has to be part of the solution – and they’re listening. We’ve supported the development and visibility of new OT roles within job centres. We’ve showcased OT-led vocational rehabilitation in practice. We've created opportunities for members to demonstrate the value of occupational therapy in real-world settings.

Alongside national engagement, we’ve focused on enabling the workforce itself. This includes holding webinars and leadership cafés and bringing members together to share learning and build confidence in this growing area of practice.

Biggest change in England / UK

This year, the publication of the UK Government’s 10-Year Health & Care Plan marked a pivotal moment for long-term system ambition and set the stage for the forthcoming 10-Year Workforce Plan.

It’s great that the plan recognises the importance of OTs in supporting children with SEND. We made this point in our response to the consultation, and we’re glad they listened. But there’s still a risk that models – like neighbourhood health teams – become overly medicalised if they do not embrace holistic, occupation-centred ways of working.

Workforce Strategy spotlight

Across the year, our Workforce Strategy has been translated into action. RCOT teams came together and:

launched a new model for advanced practice
published the Research and Innovation Strategy
drew on findings from the workforce survey to support our influencing activities
launched the Education Enhancement Service and consulted on revised Learning and development and new early career standards
completed an initial review of the Career Development Framework and began planning for its integration into the new Professional Development Strategy
created RCOT Communities and appointed network leads, including Practice Networks, to connect members, share expertise and drive collaborative learning
collected and drew on service innovation projects and best practice examples to demonstrate value and impact of occupational therapy
held two panel discussions on measuring the impact of occupational therapy – recordings and OT News article are available.

2026 – the year ahead

Next year, major national strategies are emerging – including on schools, social care reform, housing and work and health. We’ll be there to make sure occupational therapy expertise is part of the conversation from the outset.

Here’s what’s coming up:

Early in the new year – we’ll launch training for OTs on how to complete fit notes, alongside further training on supporting people to return to work later in the year.
Spring – updated guidance on the Care Act for OTs in local authorities will be published, and we’ll launch our new Education Standards. We’ll also highlight the role of OTs in schools and social care and engage with The Casey Commission on Social Care.
National engagement – we’ll be working with the Casey Commission and influencing the forthcoming Schools White Paper – highlighting the vital role of OTs in schools as part of our national campaign.
Summer – our Housing Without Delay campaign will launch. We’ll be making the case for accessible housing as a cornerstone of independence and wellbeing. The Casey Commission will also report back on its findings, and we’ll continue to emphasise the role of OT in work.

Alongside these milestones, we’ll continue reimagining advanced practice and share news about our #PrescribingNow campaign – including how members can get involved in making the case for independent prescribing rights for OTs.

Wales

Paul Smith is our Policy and Public Affairs Lead – Wales.

Follow @rcotpolicywales.bsky.social on Bluesky to stay connected.

Key highlight from 2025

Much like the Senedd elections next year, RCOT in Wales has gone through a period of change. Earlier this year, we said goodbye to Dai Davies as our Professional Adviser in Wales, with his move back into practice. Thank you Dai for everything you did for OTs in Wales.

It’s been a pleasure to join RCOT in Wales, getting to know members across the country over the last five months. I’m excited about what we can achieve together over the next twelve months.

Most impactful thing we did

We’re passionate about making sure that members are front and centre of our work in Wales.

In October, occupational therapist Kim Willis gave oral evidence to the Senedd’s Health and Social Care Committee. The MSs are looking at the future of primary care in Wales and Kim expertly demonstrated the benefits of OTs working in GP practices.

During OT Week, we took a team of occupational therapists to the Senedd to help launch our annual campaign – Right support, right time: unlocking the power of OT. They came from across Wales, from a range of services, to give presentations on the power of OT and took questions from MSs. It was fantastic that Gwenno Rowlands got to speak directly to the Cabinet Secretary for Health on the role OTs play in neonatal units with the launch of the Welsh Government review into maternity services.

Biggest change in Wales

This year also saw the retirement of the Chief Allied Health Professional Officer (CAHPO) for the Welsh Government, Ruth Crowder. Ruth joined the Welsh Government back in 2018 to be the voice of AHPs at the heart of government – having previously worked for RCOT in Wales. Thank you Ruth for championing our profession at the highest levels.

Sadly, the Welsh Government has failed to either recruit a new CHAPO or appoint an interim. We’re calling on the Welsh Government to immediately open a second recruitment round and appoint an interim CAHPO ahead of the Senedd elections.

Workforce Strategy spotlight

Over the last few months, we’ve had to continue the fight to ensure health boards do not backslide on the journey of moving their focus from secondary to primary care. We’ve responded to a number of organisational change policy consultations – reminding health board leaders of the Welsh Government’s commitment to the move.

We’ve also raised our concerns and the impact a reduction in proposed occupational therapy training places at Welsh universities would have. Health Education Improvement Wales (HEIW) has suggested that there is a reduction of 18% in OT places, compared with a 12% decrease across all AHPs.

2026 – the year ahead

Mark Thursday 7 May 2026 in your diary! Voters across Wales will go to the polls to elect the next Senedd. There is a new voting system in place where we have one vote with MSs elected for a larger constituency than before, with six being elected per area.

The Senedd is also expanding from 60 to 96 MSs and it is likely that at least two-thirds of the members will be newly elected.

We’re looking forward to building relationships with all the MSs and strengthening their understanding of the power and impact of occupational therapy, especially in prevention and early intervention.

Alongside this, we will be focusing on:

Promoting our RCOT Manifesto – publishing our five key manifesto asks in January, calling on all political parties to commit to them.
Producing an open letter – asking all OTs in Wales to support our election asks through an open letter to candidates.
Meeting OTs – encouraging MSs to sign up to spend a day with an OT in their constituency, seeing firsthand the benefits of occupational therapy.
Engaging with Senedd events – taking a stall at the first ‘Y Farchnad’ of the Seventh Senedd, an AHPF Cymru flat walkthrough with AHPs and ending the year with pre-OT week event in October.

Northern Ireland

Cliona McSherry is our Policy and Public Affairs Lead – Northern Ireland.

Follow @rcotpolicyni.bsky.social on Bluesky to stay connected.

Key highlight from 2025

We secured a major workforce win: the Minister for Health announced an increase in commissioned undergraduate occupational therapy places from 65 to 93 for 2025/26. That’s a 43% uplift with approximately £900k additional investment.

This was the joint largest rise across all Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) and a vote of confidence in the profession, particularly given the challenging financial context.

Most impactful thing we did

We published our Northern Ireland Workforce Strategy Action Plan in January, which we developed with our member-led advisory group.

Throughout the year we’ve met with decision makers, including the Minister for Health, the Chief AHP Officer and the Chair of the Health Committee.

Thanks to this engagement, the Department of Health agreed to make occupational therapy a priority in workforce planning. This put occupational therapy at the heart of service transformation and future growth.

Biggest change in Northern Ireland

We’ve seen a real focus on service transformation and prevention, largely due to the challenging financial context. This is creating opportunities for us to show how occupational therapy can lead community-based care and it was great to see formal motions of support during OT Week at Stormont from a range of political representatives.

Workforce Strategy spotlight

Since its launch in January, we have actively promoted our Workforce Strategy action plan at key conferences and events, including the Northern Ireland AHP Conference and the NHS Confederation (NICON) Conference. In addition, we expanded the Advisory Group that helped shape and develop the plan by recruiting new members.

2026 – the year ahead

In 2026 we’ll:

continue to support our members across Northern Ireland to be changemakers, by giving them the tools to lead change, including work with Heads of Service on capturing the economic impact of occupational therapy interventions
welcome Gary Waltham, our new Chief Executive, to Northern Ireland in the spring
advocate for an increase in practice education capacity to match the expanded student intake
show how occupational therapy in Northern Ireland can deliver the rollout of the Neighbourhood Health Model and, as efforts to tackle economic inactivity progress, in alignment with our Right Time, Right Support campaign.

Scotland

Katie MacGregor is our Policy and Public Affairs Lead – Scotland.

Follow @rcotpolicyscot.bsky.social on Bluesky to stay connected.

Key highlight from 2025

This year has been another busy and impactful one for RCOT in Scotland. One of our biggest achievements was making sure occupational therapists are included in the National Social Work Partnership.

We achieved this by working closely with key stakeholders, supported by our members. This milestone gives occupational therapy a seat at the table and creates new opportunities to influence, collaborate and shape future decisions.

Most impactful thing we did

In April, we published our Workforce Action Plan for Scotland, developed with our Scotland Advisory Group. This plan gives us a strong foundation for our influencing work and we’ve already begun putting it into action.

It places occupational therapy at the heart of service transformation and future workforce capacity, and it has helped shape our election manifesto work.

Biggest change in Scotland

This year, the Scottish Government published a series of documents setting out its vision for health and social care renewal. This marked a pivotal moment in long-term strategic thinking and presents a significant opportunity for occupational therapy.

The Population Health Framework recognises that health is shaped by wider determinants such as income, education, work, housing, community and the physical environment – areas where occupational therapists already make a real difference.

Even as priorities shift after the Scottish election, we will continue working with the government to help turn these ambitions into reality.

Workforce Strategy spotlight

Our focus on local authority occupational therapists, including our work with the National Social Work Partnership, delivers on commitments set out in our Workforce Strategy.

We also welcomed confirmation from the Chief AHP Officer, Carolyn McDonald, that this is a shared priority. She has committed to a deep dive into the challenges facing local authority occupational therapists in early 2026.

2026 – the year ahead

The Scottish Parliament election in 2026 is an exciting opportunity. Around a third of current MSPs are standing down, meaning many new members will enter Parliament.

We look forward to building relationships with these MSPs and strengthening their understanding of the power and impact of occupational therapy.

Alongside this, we’ll focus on:

Promoting our RCOT Manifesto – we’ll publish our six key manifesto asks in January, calling on all political parties to commit to them.
Deep dive into the challenges of Local Authority working – hosting an event with the Chief AHP Officer to explore challenges facing local authority occupational therapists and develop solutions together.
Developing a Primary care route map – we’ll continue work with the Scottish Government to ensure occupational therapists are core members of primary care teams.
Influencing post-election – we’ll hold a post-election event with AHPFS colleagues to promote occupational therapy within Parliament.
Continuing to deliver our Workforce Strategy in Scotland – we’ll keep delivering on our workforce strategy in Scotland by supporting local authority occupational therapists, strengthening practice education and working with partners to tackle workforce challenges.

Get involved:

We want you to be at the heart of this movement. You can:

join RCOT Communities and share your insight or questions
get involved with a Practice or Professional Network you care about
take up opportunities to lead engagement and evidence development in policy spaces.

Your experience is vital in shaping the future of occupational therapy and influencing how health and care systems evolve.

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