Meeting of the Parliament 26 April 2017
The focus has been on workers who deliver social care. It has been a very unusual step to have a Government putting public money into what are, in essence, private sector organisations. That does not happen for any other sector. Tens of millions of pounds have gone into private sector organisations to help them to deliver the living wage. As Miles Briggs will appreciate, that has focused on those who deliver social care to service users. It is, of course, for employers to address, as part of their business delivery, any consequential effects on the terms and conditions of their other staff. However, it is quite right that our focus has been on social care staff. Given that support has come from public money, we need to make sure that it delivers as much social care recruitment and retention as possible.
As part of our efforts to raise the status of social care, we are making important progress towards social care being a regulated profession. To maintain their registration, staff must continually update their skills and knowledge. That approach will continue to improve the delivery of social services and protect service users through ensuring a competent, confident and skilled workforce.
I do not have time to address the issue of sleepovers, so Aileen Campbell will do so in her closing remarks. I thank Alison Johnstone for moving the motion.
I move amendment S5M-05312.2, to leave out from “agrees” to end and insert:
“welcomes that work to explore the extension of free personal care to people under 65 who would benefit from it is under way; notes recent investments to make care charges fairer and calls on all local authorities to ensure that they are as flexible as possible in the withdrawal of charges; believes that all local authorities should ensure that all staff providing social care are paid at least the real Living Wage, as set by the independent Living Wage Foundation, with a view to providing better conditions and structures for career development to help recruit and retain staff, and further believes that, if Scotland loses access to the single market due to Brexit, and with it freedom of movement, that this will pose a serious recruitment challenge for social care.”
15:02Motions, questions or amendments mentioned by their reference code.