Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what fiscal steps he will take to ensure departmental spending allows for adequate (a) pay and (b) grading structure for staff working in social care.

The Local Government Finance Settlement for 2022/23 made an additional £3.7 billion available for councils, including £1 billion for social care. In 2021/22, local authorities’ expenditure on adult social care was £21.4 billion which is an average increase of 2.5% per year in real terms between 2014/15 and 2021/22.

The majority of care workers are employed by private sector providers which set pay and grading structures, independently of central Government. Local authorities work with care providers to determine fee rates, which should take account of wage costs based on local market conditions.