Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number and proportion of care workers earning the minimum wage.
All care workers aged 23 years old and over are entitled to the National Living Wage. The National Minimum Wage applies to workers who are school leaving age and aged 22 years old and under.
The Department has made no estimate; however, we commission Skills for Care to provide information and intelligence on adult social care providers and their workforce. Skills for Care reported that in March 2023, 17% of care workers in the independent sector were paid at the National Living Wage, which was £9.50 at the time, corresponding to 140,000 filled posts.