12 November 2023

More than 100 organisations urge First Minister to value social care staff in 2024-25 Budget

110 organisations from across civil society, including providers, anti-poverty groups, faith leaders, carers’ representatives and equality organisations, sign joint letter sent to the First Minister calling on him to increase pay

110 organisations have signed a joint letter sent to the First Minister calling on him to increase pay for social care staff and demonstrate that they are valued.

The letter, led by the Coalition of Care & Support Providers in Scotland (CCPS), is supported by organisations from across civil society, with social care providers joined by anti-poverty groups, faith leaders, carers’ representatives and equality organisations, among many others.

Read the letter and full list of signatories

In September’s Programme for Government, the First Minister announced a new base rate of pay for social care and support staff of £12 from April 2024, increasing from the current rate of £10.90.

As our letter explains, the pledged rate of £12 matches the updated Real Living Wage – sending a clear message to social care staff that they are only worth the bare minimum.

CCPS and signatories to the letter believe that £12 per hour is simply not enough, and that the proposed rate fails to reflect the invaluable societal contribution made by social care staff in supporting people to thrive and live independent lives.

Rachel Cackett, Chief Executive Officer of CCPS, said:

“Social care is at the heart of the First Minister’s vision for ‘Equality, Opportunity and Community’ in Scotland. Yet it is systematically overlooked and undervalued.

“Organisations that provide social care are rapidly losing staff because the current pay of £10.90 is simply too low to retain them and they migrate to better-paid jobs elsewhere.

“It is a scandal that, in communities across Scotland, people who need support to live, thrive and stay independent, can’t get it because there aren’t the staff available.

“As the First Minister will see from the range of signatories to this letter – the first time so many organisations have come together to make a joint call on this issue – we represent an emerging movement who are determined to bring social justice to social care and support.

“We are all clear that a better decision on pay for social care staff is needed in the 2024-25 Budget due to be published next month.”

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Media contact: Chris Small – chris.small@ccpscotland.org

Notes for editors:

▪ Staff vacancy rate in social care sector

Earlier this year, with the HR Voluntary Sector Forum (HRVSF), CCPS commissioned the University of Strathclyde to conduct a workforce benchmarking survey. In July we published an executive summary from the report finding that social care and support providers in Scotland are struggling with a loss of staff, with an average of 52% of those moving jobs last year leaving the social care sector altogether. Read the report. Read our media release.

▪ Proposed increase to £12 per hour, and Real Living Wage

The proposed rise from £10.90 per hour to £12 per hour for not-for-profit social care staff was announced on 5 September in the Programme for Government. The new rate of £12 for the Real Living Wage was announced on 24 October.

▪ 4 Steps to Fair Work

CCPS’s 4 Steps to Fair Work campaign (June – October 2024) called on the Scottish Government to properly recognise and reward social care staff for the work they do. It shared blogs and video contributions, including from a support worker who said that earning £10.90 per hour means “You can survive, but you can’t really live.”

▪ CCPS

The Coalition of Care & Support Providers in Scotland is the voice of not-for-profit social care providers, with 91 provider organisations in membership.

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24 October 2023

Statement: “With promised £12 per hour base pay no more than the Real Living Wage, social care staff need action now to show they are valued”

Our CEO Rachel Cackett responds to today’s announcement that the Real Living Wage will rise to £12 per hour

Responding to today’s announcement that the Real Living Wage will rise to £12 per hour, CCPS’s Chief Executive Rachel Cackett said:

“Back in September, the Scottish Government announced a £12 per hour base rate of pay for social care staff, starting in April 2024. Today, we know that this offer is no more than the new Real Living Wage amount, which will be introduced at the same time.

This means that many not-for-profit social care staff – who work with disabled people, older people, children, families and many others who need support in communities across Scotland – will now receive just the minimum the Living Wage Foundation calculates is needed to meet every day needs.

This is nothing like enough.

Before the new base rate and RLW kick in next spring, social care staff will have to navigate the winter months as an acute cost of living crisis continues, whilst many earn just the £10.90 per hour currently set by the Scottish Government.

The First Minister’s states his priorities are “Equality, Opportunity and Community”. These priorities are at the heart of social care. Yet a workforce that makes such a vital contribution to society, to supporting people to thrive and live independent lives, continues to face inequality and limited opportunities through poor government pay awards. The knock-on is a lack of available support for the most vulnerable people in our communities.

Investing in the value of social care is a political choice, and there is still time to make the right choice in the 2024-25 Budget. We know public finances are tight. We know we won’t get to parity of pay, terms and conditions for equal work with public sector colleagues overnight. We are very far from that now.

But we need to see a clear step to closing the pay gap in April next year and a plan to get to equality; a move towards showing staff that they are truly valued.

So, we are calling on the First Minister to up his offer to at least £13 per hour for all social care staff from April 2024 as part of a published timetable to achieve Fair Work.

Not as an end point, but to indicate in tough times that our government sees the value of our sector and is committed to ending deep inequities for social care staff in Scotland.”

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