Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government – in the Senedd at 1:45 pm on 15 September 2021.
Well, yes, thank you for that. Perhaps we don't know how much will come to Wales, but we know that there will be a significant cost for employers and local authorities. That's one aspect of the public sector, of course. You can multiply that across the rest of the public sector in Wales as well. So, I would encourage you to consider additional support specifically for that.
Now, as a society, of course, we have deputised care to those on the lowest level of wages in Wales, and those who receive the lowest level of support, and that can't continue. There are around 64,000 social care workers in Wales. Each one of them, in our opinion, deserve the pay and conditions that reflect the importance of the role that they fulfil for society. We, as a party, have been calling for all social care to be free of charge at the point where it is needed. Also, to introduce a minimum wage of £10 an hour for social care workers, and to shift the funding towards preventative investments that would, of course, transform the requirements within the health system in the long term. Now, the cost of implementing those policies is affordable, but, of course, we need the political will to make that happen.
It was announced yesterday that an inter-ministerial group on paying for social care will meet again in light of the UK Government's announcement. So, can I ask what the scope of that group's work will be? Perhaps you can expand on that. And, of course, can you be clear on whether it will only be considering paying for care alone? Or, whether there'll be a discussion on how we can use that funding to improve the quality of the care and the well-being of the workforce. Because another message that we receive from local authorities is that, yes, the funding is a problem, but people are a problem as well. And there is a deficit in the workforce and that's just as much of a risk.