Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services – in the Senedd at 2:55 pm on 3 November 2021.
Thank you very much for that question, and I'd like to congratulate RCT on the steps they're taking, and the other local authorities who are taking similar steps. But, progress across Wales is patchy, which is why we are taking a national line. We are working very closely with local government about delivering the real living wage. The Minister for Health and Social Services and I meet every week in the care action committee with representatives from the Welsh Local Government Association, as well as representatives from health and others. The leader of the WLGA, Andrew Morgan, and the social services lead, Huw David, are both there, as well as WLGA officials. In addition, the WLGA and the Association of Directors of Social Services are members of the social care fair work forum, which has just provided this advice. So, I can assure you that we are closely bound in with all the local authorities in Wales, and we are looking forward very much to the time when social care workers in Wales receive, at the very least, the real living wage, which is what they deserve.