6. Will the Minister provide an update on the social care workforce special payment scheme? OQ55429

I thank Joyce Watson for that question. We have published interim guidance on the scheme to confirm the eligibility criteria. Work is now focused on finalising a robust implementation and delivery plan to ensure that payments are made as quickly as possible. 

I thank you. I do find it astounding that the Tories are trying to turn a real, genuine, positive way of rewarding those who work in the care sector into a negative, in the same way that the Prime Minister has blamed care workers for spreading coronavirus. Do you agree with me that it's time that the Tories showed some positivity towards care workers who have given so much to their communities, and might they not be wise to adopt the words of Winston Churchill in 1940, when he said,

'Never...was so much owed by so many to so few'?

I'd like to thank Joyce Watson very much for that supplementary question, because it does give me the opportunity to thank all the care workers in Wales for their tireless work during this very difficult period and to regret the fact that they may have been upset by the words of the Prime Minister yesterday. I'm sure that Joyce Watson would agree with me that one of the ways the Prime Minister could show his appreciation for care workers is to allow them to have the £500 in full. As the First Minister said in his questions, we are still exploring with HMRC to see if we can come to an agreement, but if the Prime Minister does regret what he said yesterday, he will make sure that they get that money in full.