Care workers in Northumberland are set to benefit from a £3.4million cash injection to increase wages in the sector. 

 

Northumberland County Council’s Cabinet this week approved a proposal which would see care providers receive additional funding from April on condition they pay their staff as a minimum at a level equivalent to the “Real Living Wage” of £9.90 per hour, as set by the Living Wage Foundation. 

 

Cabinet members unanimously agreed to the proposal, describing it as a ground-breaking move that would be extremely welcome to staff in the care sector. It will now form part of the budget recommended to the Full Council at its meeting next month. 

 

Cllr Wendy Pattison, cabinet member for adults' wellbeing said: “I cannot emphasise enough how much this Council values our care workers and care providers, and this proposal aims to bring minimum salaries for care workers in Northumberland up to the level of the Real Living Wage, two years before we expect that to happen nationally.” 

 

In Northumberland, as elsewhere, most care services for adults are delivered by independent providers, with the council commissioning care services from those providers.  

 

To ensure the additional funding is used to improve pay rates, the council will offer all providers of commissioned services a variation to their current contracts which would add a requirement that they must pay their care workers at least a specified minimum hourly rate, in return for a proportionate increase to the element in their funding which is currently linked to the National Living Wage.  

 

Cllr Pattison added: “The council already supports the Real Living Wage for council-employed staff, and this is an important next step to ensure staff in the care sector are properly paid for the wonderful work they do to support some of our most vulnerable residents across the county.” 

 

The Government's announced policy is that by 2024 the rate of the National Living Wage will reach two thirds of median earnings, which is projected to bring it in line with the Real Living Wage. 

 

Northumberland’s Cabinet Members agreed there is now a strong case for bringing that date forward for care workers, both to recognise the pressures that they have been under during the Covid pandemic and to address the current recruitment and retention issues facing providers nationally, regionally and locally in Northumberland.