WIREDGOV

Cllr Izzi Seccombe, Chairman of the Local Government Association's Community Wellbeing Board responded to a UK Home Care Association report into pay for care workers.

"This report highlights the extremely difficult financial climate for local government. The adult social care system is chronically underfunded and the backdrop of 40 per cent cuts to local government funding during the current Parliament and increasing pressure from the Government to drive down the costs of care, has forced councils to ask providers to run services on tighter margins which unfortunately may have a knock-on effect on wages. It is clear that continued cuts to funding for adult social care is putting an impossible squeeze on councils and providers to deliver care for our most vulnerable.

"Many councils work closely with local providers to try and continuously improve services for people who rely on home care.  We rely on care workers to keep our social care system running and support people who can often have complex needs. While councils recognise that is important that care workers are paid a fair wage, decisions about levels of pay are best made locally and in the context of a fully funded care system.

"Councils need to continue to work with providers to build a stable, skilled and fairly paid workforce so that everyone has access to the best quality care and support to enable them to live in their homes for longer and with dignity. The report also highlights the need to ensure there are clear and open ways of letting local people know the cost of care in their area.

"Councils are best placed to work together and support one another to improve and will continue to work with providers to make sure that people remain at the centre of decisions about how best to meet their needs."

Notes to editors:

• Through the Care Act next month, councils will have a duty to give assurance that when commissioning services, they have evidence that service providers deliver services through staff remunerated so as to retain an effective workforce. Remuneration must be at least be sufficient to comply with the national minimum wage legislation for hourly pay or equivalent salary. This will include appropriate remuneration for any time spent travelling between appointments. Guidance on these issues can be found at the HMRC website.

Victoria Daly

Senior Media Officer
Local Government Association
Phone: 020 7664 3308
Email: victoria.daly@local.gov.uk
Media office (out of hours contact): 020 7664 3333
Local Government House, Smith Square, London, SW1P 3HZ