Source · Select Committees · Health and Social Care Committee
Recommendation 13
13
Deferred
Low pay for social care workers does not recognise skills and pushes some into poverty.
Conclusion
Low pay does not adequately recognise the level of skill adult social care workers need to do very difficult physical and emotional work. It is both morally unacceptable, and economically shortsighted, that the current pay regime is pushing some into poverty. Higher wages would achieve better quality care and reduce recruitment and training costs. We welcome increases to the National Living Wage. (Conclusion, Paragraph 85)
Government response summary AI-generated
The government defers to Baroness Casey's full autonomy to determine the independent commission’s priorities, acknowledging her task to make adult social care more productive and preventative, rather than committing to specific actions regarding low pay for care workers.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government · verbatim extract
Deferred
The government is committed to consulting on the design of the Fair Pay Agreement process. DHSC established a Fair Pay Agreement working group at the end of 2024 so that the government can update and seek feedback from adult social care sector representatives and trade unions. Alongside this, DHSC is coordinating a series of policy-specific task and finish groups with sector stakeholders that will help inform potential policy options for inclusion in a formal public consultation. The government will begin the Fair Pay Agreement consultation this year. Once the consultation concludes, secondary legislation and the establishing of the negotiating body will follow in 2026. We intend to produce an impact assessment including monetised estimates, in line with the usual process for secondary legislation, once a Fair Pay Agreement is ratified. Once the negotiating body is established, it will then negotiate the first Fair Pay Agreement. The government is committed to establishing the first Fair Pay Agreement within this Parliament.
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