The social care workforce more than ever demonstrates unwavering compassion and dedication. We are proud of and immensely grateful to them. We want to celebrate their work and give them the acknowledgement and appreciation that they deserve. We wholeheartedly agree with those that have signed this petition, that care staff in England have worked extremely hard during the COVID-19 pandemic and deserve recognition for the vital role they have played in our frontline response to the virus.

Through the pandemic we have taken steps to make sure care workers are supported financially. We have provided over £1.1 billion through our Infection Control Fund for adult social care providers. The Infection Control Fund is for measures such as maintaining the normal wages of staff who may need to self-isolate and covering extra costs related to other infection prevention measures such as avoiding using public transport. This is in addition to £4.6 billion we have now made available to local authorities so they can address pressures on local services caused by the pandemic.

On 18 September we published a winter plan for Adult Social Care setting out the wellbeing support for the social care workforce through the winter. In addition to continuing support for staff mental health, we also made a commitment to work with local authorities to assess access to occupational health and other wellbeing support.

We are also working to increase visible recognition of our workforce. This includes through developing the CARE brand which will increase visibility and amplify the voice of social care now and in the future. The CARE brand sits alongside the NHS brand that is, rightly, widely celebrated. CARE badges are currently available free of charge, to be worn as a symbol of pride across the social care sector, to empower social care staff in their careers, and reinforce appreciation of their valuable work. So far, over 1 million badges have been provided to social care staff. This increased visual recognition of social care workers will allow communities and businesses to show appreciation to social care workers.

Alongside the CARE brand we are exploring ways to further develop recognition of the social care sector. We are working on creating a longer-lasting, more substantive legacy of recognition as part of wider work to support the ASC workforce as best we can.

However, we do not feel that a one-off bonus payment, as this petition asks for, will be a valuable addition to our efforts to create a long-lasting legacy of recognition for the efforts of care staff over during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, we are not planning to match the £500 bonus given to all care staff in Wales.

Department of Health and Social Care