No less than 70 carers’ charities in the UK have signed an open letter to Chancellor George Osborne urging him to invest more into social care so that care workers are paid a living wage.
The letter was distributed to the national press by the charity, Carers Trust, calling on the Chancellor to increase investment so that organisations providing care for the older and disabled have sufficient resources to pay their staff the new Living Wage from next April, when it comes into force.
The statement arrives prior to next week’s Spending Review, stressing that without sufficient funding, many providers of care will have no choice but to leave the market, adding to the amount of care which is already stretched, that family members and unpaid carers will have to supply.
Gail Scott-Spicer, CEO of Carers Trust, says in the letter to the Chancellor:
‘Paid care work is not easy and must be valued and recognised. We need to ensure care workers are paid fairly for the difficult and stressful job they do and we need to attract and retain skilled and passionate people to the care workforce.
That is why we welcome your intention to see every social care worker paid at least the new National Living Wage by April 2016.
‘We ask for your support in ensuring the sustainability of organisations providing care so that older people, disabled people and their families who need care in the future, are able to find it.’
