Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, will he take steps to provide an interim pay increase for social care workers in advance of the implementation of fair pay agreement outcomes in 2028.

We want to get the process of establishing Fair Pay Agreements right to ensure meaningful reform for the adult social care sector. The public consultation launched recently is an important milestone and we encourage all interested parties to respond.

In the interim, the Plan to Make Work Pay is already delivering changes to the National Living Wage. A full-time care worker on the National Living Wage received an increase to their gross annual earnings of £1,400 a year from April 2025. The Spending Review 2025 allows for an increase of over £4 billion in additional funding available for ASC in 2028-29 compared to 2025-26. This includes other sources of income available to support adult social care, additional grant funding and an increase in the National Health Service’s contribution to adult social care via the Better Care Fund, in line with the Department’s Spending Review settlement.

Additionally, the Government has committed to reforms which will mitigate the growing pressures on local government services and achieve better value for money.

Finally, we are taking forward other significant reforms to the social care sector directly, including expanding the Care Workforce Pathway – the first ever national career structure for adult social care – and providing £12 million of funding for eligible care staff to complete courses and qualifications, such as the Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate.