Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of setting minimum national pay and conditions for staff working in social care.

The vast majority of care workers are employed by private sector providers who ultimately set their pay and conditions, independent of central Government. Local authorities work with care providers to determine a fair rate of pay based on local market conditions. However, we are committing additional funding to support local authorities to move towards paying providers a fair rate for care and provide the means to improve working practices.

In addition, the Government recently announced at least £500 million over three years to fund hundreds of thousands of training places and certifications, progression pathways and wellbeing and mental health support.