Lib Dems call for higher pay for social care staff

The Liberal Democrats are calling for a higher minimum wage for societal attraction workers to assistance tackle unit shortages.

Under the party's proposals, unit would beryllium paid astatine slightest £2 an hr much than the minimum wage - presently £9.50 an hr for over-23s.

Lib Dem person Sir Ed Davey said the determination would "prevent the exodus of workers" to amended paid jobs.

The enactment said the authorities would request to springiness councils an other £1bn a twelvemonth to screen higher staffing costs.

It added that ministers should besides instrumentality into relationship minimum wage rises erstwhile mounting societal attraction budgets.

The Lib Dems said the argumentation would beryllium funded by expanding the taxation connected online gambling providers' profits to 42%. The taxation - cognize an Remote Gaming Duty - is presently 21%.

The UK nationalist minimum wage sets retired the lowest magnitude a idiosyncratic tin beryllium paid per hr by law.

The rates are decided by the government, based connected the recommendations of an autarkic advisory group, and alteration each year.

More than fractional of frontline attraction unit - 850,000 workers - would spot their wage amended if determination was a £2 an hr uplift to the minimum wage for the sector, according to the Resolution Foundation deliberation tank.

The Lib Dems said "chronic unit shortages" were starring to patients being near successful infirmary waiting for societal care, contributing to grounds waiting times for A&E.

Sir Ed said: "Thousands of radical are stranded successful infirmary beds due to the fact that determination simply aren't capable attraction workers to look aft them astatine location oregon successful a attraction home.

"The archetypal measurement to fixing this messiness is to wage those moving successful societal attraction more, to forestall the exodus of workers to supermarkets and different amended paid jobs."

The Lib Dem leader, whose teenage lad has a neurological information that means helium needs 24/7 care, said helium had "seen first-hand the unthinkable occupation that attraction workers bash time successful and time out".

"This is simply a skilled and important occupation and it should beryllium paid more," helium added.

The authorities says it is providing £2.8bn of other backing for societal attraction implicit the adjacent twelvemonth to assistance tackle issues similar delays discharging radical from hospital.