The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has urged the government to remove all charges to immigration visas and set a minimum wage of £10.50 an hour for care workers in England to help alleviate the impact of workforce challenges.
The MAC report, which briefs ministers on immigration policy has put forward 19 recommendations, which it says will alleviate the challenges facing the social care sector, including recruitment and retention.
The National Care Forum (NCF) the Voluntary Organisations Disability Group (VODG) and the Homecare Association have welcomed the report and said this “reiterates some very important issues” which includes issues of underfunding and how this continues to “exacerbate challenges to providers”, high staff vacancy and turnover rates and the “impact of low pay and the care workforce challenges”.
‘We know the true value of care work is much more’
Vic Rayner, chief executive of the NCF and member of the social care expert advisory for the MAC said: “While a focus on the minimum pay for care workers in this report is a helpful contribution to this issue, the NCF has consistently called for an independent pay review for social care, which involves employers, commissioners, and employee representatives with a view to implementing a new career-based pay and reward structure which is comparable with the NHS and equivalent sectors and fully-funded by central government.”
The VODG is also urging the government to “embrace” the committee’s recommendations to fully fund a rate of social care pay above the National Living Wage.
Dr Rhidian Hughes, chief executive of VODG said: “At present, charities are prevented from improving pay rates because funding passed down by central government to local authorities falls woefully insufficient.
The Welsh government has announced a further £10 million to help newly recruited care workers pay for driving lessons and purchase electric fleet vehicles.
Being unable to drive or not having access to a vehicle is one of the main barriers to recruitment into the sector and can limit the number of hours domiciliary care workers are able to work.
The Deputy Minister for Social Services, Julie Morgan said: “I am very pleased we are providing an additional £10 million to local authorities to increase capacity in domiciliary care.
“Domiciliary care workers being unable to drive is cited as one of the main barriers to recruitment and can limit what services can be offered by providers. This funding will support the sector to meet these challenges and help people return home from hospital by increasing the provision of services.
“In addition, there are significant delays for driving test dates due to the pandemic. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency has agreed to prioritise test dates for Welsh domiciliary care workers who are waiting to sit their driving tests.”
For more information visit homecare.co.uk
Almost 20,000 home care workers have left their jobs since September when the government first announced its ‘no jab no job’ policy but its decision to scrap it from 15 March, has been welcomed by care bosses.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has confirmed its Vaccination as a Condition of Deployment (VCOD) policy (originally due to come into force on 1 April for home care workers and the NHS in England) will be revoked effective from 15 March, after consultation with the NHS and care sector.
No jab no job U-turn ‘preventing further care workers leaving’
While the regulations had already come into force for care home workers last November, a vaccine mandate had not come into force for home care workers. With many home care bosses reporting they have lost staff since September, the U-turn was welcomed.
“We are very pleased the government is reversing the VCOD regulations and therefore preventing further care workers from leaving the workforce”, said Dr Jane Townson, the chief executive of the Homecare Association, which has a membership of over 2,340 home care providers in the UK.
“We have always strongly supported vaccination against COVID-19, as it helps protect the recipient from severe illness and death. However, we believe persuasion is more effective and proportionate than compulsion, in encouraging uptake amongst the remaining workers with a genuine fear about vaccination.
“We also need to balance the mitigated risk of infection with the very real risk of even more older and disabled people going without care due to workforce shortages.”
Domiciliary care bosses have reported that 89 per cent of home care staff had received one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, as of 13 February 2022.
For the full story visit the homecare.co.uk website
