7. Statement by the Deputy Minister for Social Services: Social Care Fair Work and Real Living Wage

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:26 pm on 29 June 2021.

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Photo of Julie Morgan Julie Morgan Labour 5:26, 29 June 2021

I thank Vikki Howells for those questions. The issue about who has had the recognition payment has obviously caused some issues, particularly with the people she has mentioned—advocates and business support. But the purpose of giving the bonus to social care workers was to give it to those who actually do deliver the service. And we really wish we could deliver it much wider, but of course, there is a financial limit to what we are actually able to do. So, one of the first tasks that we'll be asking of the social care fair work forum is to work with us in defining who will be the social care workers who will receive the real living wage, and that will not be easy to do. That's why I've said, really, that this is a complex process and why we don't want to rush into doing it. It's obvious that some workers are social care workers, for example, people working in residential care homes or people delivering domiciliary care, but there's a whole host of other people who have to be considered. So, that will be one of the first tasks of the social care fair work forum, and I'm really glad that we'll be doing that jointly with the unions and with employers and other organisations.

Now, in trying to encourage people to choose social care as a career choice, Social Care Wales has been very successful in terms of its registration of domiciliary workers and now it's moving on to the registration of residential care workers. The registration process does highlight the skills that so many people have, and what could be more important than caring for an elderly, vulnerable person or a vulnerable child? It is one of the most important jobs that could be done, and by their advertising—they've got an advertising process that is very well respected and has, in fact, been copied by other countries in the UK, by Scotland in particular—they have managed to attract people to apply for social care worker posts. But I absolutely agree with her that we have to put in all that we possibly can to ensure that these jobs remain successful jobs for people where they feel that they have got a career in front of them. And I think making sure that there is improvement in their pay is one of the first steps towards that.