Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has considered the potential merits of increasing funding to local authorities to support higher hourly rates for care staff to (a) attract and (b)retain care workers from within the UK.

We have delivered a Settlement that begins to fix the foundations of local government by providing significant investment redirecting funding towards the services and places that need it most. The Settlement for 2025-26 makes available over £69 billion for local government, including making available up to £3.7 billion in additional funding for social care authorities.

The government has introduced legislation to establish the first-ever Fair Pay Agreement for care professionals to ensure care workers are fairly rewarded for the work they do. The Fair Pay Agreement aims to resolve the recruitment and retention crisis in the profession, alleviating pressures on public services in the longer term.