7. Statement by the Deputy Minister for Social Services: Rebalancing Care and Support White Paper — Next steps

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:12 pm on 6 July 2021.

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Photo of Julie Morgan Julie Morgan Labour 6:12, 6 July 2021

I thank Joyce Watson very much for that important point and for emphasising the crucial nature of the workforce in this field, because, as she said, the workforce are delivering the most intimate services to very vulnerable people. It couldn't be a more important job, and I think our role in Government is to do all that we can to boost that workforce, to give it confidence and to show that we recognise the value of the work that is being done.

One of the things that we've already discussed in this Chamber that we are doing is to raise the wages to the real living wage, and I think that is absolutely crucial. I think the terms and conditions as well are very important, and that's where we are getting advice from the social care forum that we are working with, which includes the unions, the employers, Welsh Government and other organisations. We have brought in a registration system, as she will know, for domiciliary care workers, and we're in the process of bringing it in for residential care workers, which again recognises the expertise that this workforce—mainly women, as she said—have, and the care and the love they deliver it with. There is a high turnover, and that is something that does create a lot of uncertainty. So, we want the job to be one that people will want to stay in.

Our definition of fair work does include equality and inclusion, and that is something that the forum is actually considering. And we have been working to raise the profile of social care through the WeCare.Wales campaign, which is managed by Social Care Wales. This shows the range of roles that are available in the social care field, and also uses case studies based on real workers, ensuring that underrepresented groups are represented as role models. Social Care Wales also works directly with schools and employers, using these materials to try to recruit people into the sector. But the workforce is the strength of the sector, and she's absolutely right that we have to consider what we can do to improve terms and conditions, pay, and make people want to stay.