CEO calls on Parliament to action

Mark Adams, CEO, Community Integrated Care, one of Britain’s biggest and most successful social care charities says:

“The debate in Parliament around recognition and remuneration for social care workers is important, but I would implore government to move from discussion into action soon. The goodwill of those who have a vocation to change lives has been abused for too long.

It should be a matter of national shame that people working in frontline social care are amongst the lowest earners in society. The significant restrictions on social care funding under a decade of austerity means that care providers cannot meaningfully change this situation. This can only be resolved with fair and sustainable funding for the sector.

There can be few minimum wage roles that come close to the accountability or responsibility as those of social care workers. Very few people, at heart, feel competent or confident enough to work in care. Despite this, the government has the audacity to badge our colleagues as ‘low skilled’. This is a minimum wage sector delivering maximum impact.

This debate comes at a pivotal moment for the care industry. The bravery and impact of social care workers is now being more widely recognised, but we need to go further than just ‘clapping for carers’.

Colleagues like ours are in many ways the final line of defence between the COVID-19 crisis that we all fear for vulnerable communities. They are working tirelessly in this heatwave, wearing layers of PPE, to be there for those who need society’s support. They do this on minimum wage salaries and without the safety-net of meaningful sick pay.

We applaud the public for championing this campaign and hope that the government fulfils its moral responsibility to resolve this issue.”