Helen Morgan calls for Carers Minimum Wage as Shropshire vacancies spiral past 1,000

Helen Morgan and the Liberal Democrats are calling for a higher minimum wage for care workers to tackle chronic staff shortages in social care.

It comes as the latest figures reveal Shropshire has 1,086 job vacancies in the social care sector, meaning there is a vacancy rate of around 11%.

These chronic staff shortages are leading to patients being stuck in hospitals waiting for social care, taking up much-needed beds and contributing to record-breaking waits in A&E and dangerous ambulance delays.

Under the Liberal Democrat plans, social care workers would be paid at least £2 an hour more than the current minimum wage, bringing their pay up to at least £11.50 an hour today - and £12.42 from this April. The proposals would benefit up to 9,300 people working in the social care sector in Shropshire.

Helen Morgan, Liberal Democrat MP for North Shropshire, said, “Ambulance and A&E delays in Shropshire are horrific and are causing real harm every week. For this to change hospital beds need to be freed up by moving medically-fit patients into social care.

“Paramedics, consultants, GPs and care providers are all clear that the NHS crisis will not be fixed until the social care crisis is addressed.

“Too many people are stranded in hospital beds because there simply aren’t enough care workers to look after them at home or in a care home.

“The social care crisis is having a devastating impact on vulnerable people’s wellbeing and piling pressure on our already-stretched hospitals and GP surgeries.

“The first step to fixing this mess is to pay those working in social care more, to prevent the exodus of workers to supermarkets and other better paid jobs. I have seen first-hand the incredible job that care workers do day in and day out. This is a skilled and crucial job and it should be paid more.”

Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey added, “It is heart-breaking that millions of elderly and vulnerable people across the country are struggling to get the care they need and deserve. Our NHS is collapsing and social care is completely broken after years of broken Conservative promises.

“The Conservatives’ neglect of social care services has caused an exodus of staff to better paying jobs. Our plan for a Carer’s Minimum Wage would tackle these chronic staff shortages in social care, and help take pressure off the NHS.”

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Notes

1. There are currently 165,000 vacancies in social care – up 55,000 since last year (Source: Skills for Care - Workforce Data).
2. There are 1,086 vacancies in the Shropshire Council area (11% vacancy rate) and 504 in the Telford & Wrekin Council area (9.7%).
3. According to the Resolution Foundation, the net cost to central government of funding an extra £2/h for carers is around £890m a year in current prices. (Resolution Foundation report ‘Who Cares?’, 2023, p.38, footnote 35.)
4. Remote Gaming Duty is currently levied at 21%. According to the latest HMRC figures, it raised £970 million in 2021-22. Increasing it to 42% would therefore raise an additional £970m, assuming no behavioural change.
5. According to the Resolution Foundation (p.37), there were 1.7 million social care jobs in the UK in 2022, and more than half of care workers would see their pay improve as a result of a £2/h pay rise (more than 850,000 workers)
6. Public Health England has estimated the adverse impact of gambling on society at around £1.3 billion a year – through a combination of financial harms and the impact on physical and mental health, employment, education and crime.
7. Around 1 in 3 care workers are paid minimum wage (Source: Skills for Care - Pay in the adult social care sector).