Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to take steps to increase wages in the social care sector above the minimum wage, in the context of rises in the cost of living.

The Department has no current plans to set a specific minimum wage for care workers. Most care workers are employed by private sector providers who set their pay and terms and conditions. Local authorities work with care providers to determine fee rates, which should take account of wage costs, based on local market conditions.