One in seven have stayed at home to look after a relative due to lack of care staff

EMBARGO: IMMEDIATE RELEASE

• One in seven had to stay at home to look after a relative because of lack of care workers

• Lib Dem Leader calls for new ‘Carer’s Minimum Wage’ to tackle chronic staff shortages in social care

• New figures reveal care workers paid less than those in retail, hospitality and supermarkets

A staggering one in seven UK adults say they’ve had to stay at home to look after a relative over the last 12 months due to a lack of care workers, a new poll has revealed. 

The survey, commissioned by the Liberal Democrats, reveals millions of Brits have had to step in to look after a loved one due to a lack of professional carers in their area. A further one in five (22%) UK adults say either they or someone else they know have paid for a private carer to look after a relative.

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey is today announcing proposals for a new Carer’s Minimum Wage, to tackle the huge staff shortages in the social care sector. Under the Liberal Democrat plans, social care workers would be paid at least £2 an hour more than the current minimum wage, bringing their pay up to at least £11.50 an hour today - and £12.42 from this April. The proposals would benefit 850,000 workers, making up more than half of all people working in frontline care.

The Liberal Democrats have said that the Government must give councils an extra £1bn a year to cover the higher staff costs, and say ministers must always take account of minimum wage rises when setting social care budgets. The party says its policy would be funded by increasing the tax on online gambling providers’ profits, known as Remote Gaming Duty, to 42%. Research by Public Health England has revealed gambling’s negative health impact and the pressures that it puts on the healthcare system.

The proposals would tackle soaring staff vacancies in the care sector. There are currently a staggering 165,000 vacancies in social care, up 55,000 since last year, with one in nine frontline care jobs vacant. These chronic staff shortages are leading to patients being left stuck in hospital waiting for social care, contributing to record-breaking waits in A&E and dangerous ambulance handover delays.

The crisis has been worsened by many care home workers leaving for better paid jobs in other sectors. New analysis from the House of Commons Library shows that the typical weekly salary of care and home workers is currently £447, compared to £468 for those working in hospitality, £477 for supermarket workers and £485 for those working in retail.
 

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

“It is heart-breaking that millions of elderly and vulnerable people across the country are struggling to get the care they need and deserve.

“Our care homes are collapsing under the weight of years of broken Conservative promises.

“This social care crisis is also having a devastating impact on the NHS, contributing to record long waits at A&E and terrible ambulance delays. Thousands of people are stranded in hospital beds because there simply aren’t enough care workers to look after them at home or in a care home.

“The first step to fixing this mess is to pay those working in social care more, to prevent the exodus of workers to supermarkets and other better paid jobs. I have seen first-hand the incredible job that care workers do day in and day out. This is a skilled and crucial job and it should be paid more.”
 

ENDS
 

Notes to Editor
 

Methodology: Savanta interviewed 2,320 UK adults aged 18+ online between 27th and 29th January 2023. Data were weighted to be representative of the UK by age, sex, region and social grade.

1. There are currently 165,000 vacancies in social care – up 55,000 since last year (Source: Skills for Care - Workforce Data).

2. Around 1 in 3 care workers are paid minimum wage (Source: Skills for Care - Pay in the adult social care sector).

3. Commons Library figures on pay in social care compared to other sectors is available here.

4. Only two in five people are able to leave hospital when they are ready to do so (Source: CQC State of Care Report 2021/22)

5. According to the Resolution Foundation, the net cost to central government of funding an extra £2/h for carers is around £890m a year in current prices. (Resolution Foundation report ‘Who Cares?’, 2023, p.38, footnote 35.)

6. Remote Gaming Duty is currently levied at 21%. According to the latest HMRC figures, it raised £970 million in 2021-22. Increasing it to 42% would therefore raise an additional £970m, assuming no behavioural change.

7. According to the Resolution Foundation (p.37), there were 1.7 million social care jobs in the UK in 2022, and more than half of care workers would see their pay improve as a result of a £2/h pay rise (more than 850,000 workers)

8. Public Health England has estimated the adverse impact of gambling on society at around £1.3 billion a year – through a combination of financial harms and the impact on physical and mental health, employment, education and crime.