Social care workers lobby government for higher pay

Hundreds of social care workers, providers and service users lobbied parliament on Tuesday to tell MPs about the crisis in social care and give their own stories about what it’s like on the frontline.

The cross-party, cross-sector Future Social Care Coalition (FSCC) is calling on the Government to complete social care reform and fix the care staffing emergency.

Even before the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis, Britain’s social care services were struggling with around 110,000 vacancies. Current estimates indicate that there are now upwards of 150,000 vacancies in social care.

The FSCC is calling on the Government, and new Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay, to take urgent action and commit to the key asks set out on the FSCC pledge card.

Alistair Burt, FSCC co-chair and former Conservative social care minister, said: ‘The Social Care Lobby Day is our opportunity to shout out for social care reform. This is needed more than ever before.

‘There were extensive staff shortages across the social care workforce before the pandemic and now we are seeing more people leaving the profession due to post-pandemic pressures and the cost-of-living crisis, this can’t continue.’

Phil Hope, FSCC co-chair and former Labour care minister, said: ‘Social care workers – the forgotten frontline – worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic with little recognition.

‘It is simply not good enough that those who care for those who need care are not properly recognised and rewarded. The Government urgently needs to act. Too many are leaving the care system because they simply cannot afford to live.

‘The FSCC is calling for a Social Care People’s Plan and making the moral and economic case for parity and fairness for social care workers. Now is the time to act and for the Government to implement overdue change across the sector.’

Christine McAnea, UNISON general secretary and another FSCC co-chair, said: ‘Social care workers pay must reflect their enormous value in society. At the moment it does not.

‘The harrowing stories we have gathered for our Social Care Lobby Day highlight how care workers across the country are struggling to live. They also show how the cost-of-living crisis is making it even tougher to retain staff.

‘Those who work in social care need to be rewarded properly and recognised for what they do so brilliantly. It is time for fair pay and for action – doing nothing is simply not an option. It’s also time for Government to get social care done and show they genuinely care for those who care.’

Photo by Marcin Nowak