In response to the Government’s announcement of £500mn for the Fair Pay Agreement (FPA), ADASS President Jess McGregor said:
“We’re pleased to see this FPA announcement to help improve the pay, terms and conditions of care workers who do a brilliant job day in and day out of supporting millions of older people and those with disabilities.
“We welcome the £500mn and councils will be delighted to pass this on to providers to uplift people’s pay. But some think tanks are suggesting this will amount to a small uplift in pay per hour which is important, but not sufficient. We look forward to working with government to grow this over time.
“Most importantly, costs relating to the FPA need to be funded centrally by government, and not by councils who are already under immense financial strain. As our latest annual survey shows, councils are overspending on adult social care so they simply cannot afford to fund increases in pay.
“If the additional costs are not fully met for publicly funded social care, there will be unintended consequences – either councils will not be able to pay the required uplift to provider organisations and their staff, or they will have to tighten who is eligible for adult social care or makes cuts elsewhere in other public services to pay for them. There may also be knock-on impacts on those people who fund their own care, as higher costs to pay will mean they deplete their assets quicker so many more of them will need to turn to their council for help.
“While we welcome today’s announcement and are pleased to see the FPA process begin, the negotiations must ensure local government has a seat at the table and be fully involved in decision making around finances, and to avoid any unintended consequences. Councils commission care and support for around 1mn people annually, and their priority will always be ensuring the health and wellbeing of these people by ensuring they stay safe and receive the support they need to live the lives they want.”