Nottinghamshire care workers could get £1 an hour pay rise in new council policy

The proposal will be made at a meeting tomorrow (Thursday, July 14).

Coun Mike Pringle, deputy leader of the Labour group said: “It’s a victory for common sense. The problems the Care sector is facing are not news to us in the Labour Party; we proposed this very idea months ago in our fully-costed alternative budget back in February.

“When our proposal was rejected, one of our Labour councillors said the Conservative budget showed they had ‘already run out of ideas’. If you ever wanted evidence of that, look no further than this U-Turn.

“It’s just a shame that in the months taken to change their minds, the Conservatives haven’t found ways to push this £1 raise even higher or commit, as our proposals did, to exploring other ways of significantly raising the standards and pay for the Care sector in Nottinghamshire.

“I have put a request in with the council leader Ben Bradley to speak on this matter at the Cabinet meeting tomorrow, as I sit on the relevant select committee, and I will be asking what plans the council have put in place to ensure that this £1 uplift ends up in the pockets of the workers, and isn’t going to be top-sliced by care provider shareholders.”

Coun Matt Barney, cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health at Nottinghamshire County Council, said: “I welcome the suggestion that Labour councillors will support the Conservative recommendation to increase fee rates to commissioned home care, and care support and enablement services, by a £1 per hour from September 2022.

"This will help to address some major challenges in the care market such as the recruitment and retention of staff, and an increase in demand for these services.”

“This represents a substantial investment of around £5 million by the Council. It was therefore entirely sensible that we took time to properly consult our stakeholders and ensure that we have sufficient funds in place over the medium term, including support from central government, to deliver this permanent uplift.”