Source · Select Committees · Health and Social Care Committee
Recommendation 16
16
Accepted
Require full quantitative analysis for Adult Social Care Fair Pay Agreement impact assessments, including economic costs
Recommendation
We recommend that the impact assessment for any secondary legislation to establish an Adult Social Care Fair Pay Agreement be accompanied by a full quantitative analysis, including the impact on sector productivity, financial costs faced by providers and expected return to the Exchequer (through tax receipts or reduced welfare claims) and the wider economy. We also ask that the Department, in its response to this report, sets out when discussions on the Adult Social Care Fair Pay Agreement will begin and when the agreement will be finalised. (Recommendation, Paragraph 88) 55 The NHS and wider system costs of inaction
Government Response Summary
The government commits to beginning the Fair Pay Agreement consultation this year, with secondary legislation and the negotiating body established in 2026, aiming for the first agreement within this Parliament. It also confirms an impact assessment including monetised estimates will be produced once the agreement is ratified.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
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.