Why we are investing in Wigan Borough's unsung heroes
Wigan Council
Winner of 'Overall Council of the Year' 2023 (APSE) and 'Council of the Year' 2019 (LGC)
By Councillor Keith Cunliffe, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Adult Social Care
Social care is one of the most important areas of work for a council, supporting some of the most vulnerable residents in our community. But it is also a sector that has faced great challenges in recent years, particularly with recruitment.
We are seeing providers unable to retain staff because in many cases, those staff members can go and work in places such as a supermarket and get paid more than what they do for a very demanding job.
With more than 165,000 vacancies nationally in social care and as the cost-of-living crisis continues to impact on household bills, Wigan Council recognises the importance of investing in the pay of our workforce.
As part of the 2023/24 budget, we are promising that all staff working in adult social care receive the Real Living Wage. This is set to have a massive impact and we hope it will help us to retain and attract new people into a career in adult social care, ensuring we continue to provide essential and high-quality care to those who need help and support.
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The Real Living Wage means that carers will be paid based on the cost of living - an amount independently calculated each year by the Living Wage Foundation. The new rate for the UK is set to increase in 2023 to ￡10.90 per hour - a 14.7 per cent increase on the April 2022 national living wage.
It will be paid to all direct and commissioned services and the council will work with local commissioned providers to arrange the extra funds needed. This includes an increase in funding for people who arrange their own care through a Direct Payment.
In addition, if a non-commissioned provider such as a privately operated care home is willing to commit to paying the Real Living Wage, we will give them the funding to be able to do that.
I couldn’t be prouder with this investment, which is going toward the unsung heroes of Wigan Borough. It will also complement our innovative Care to Join Us recruitment initiative which has shown great results in terms of attracting people from the borough, especially younger people to look at a career in care and to move into a career in care.
THE VALUESgenerator Initiative
1 年3rd and concluding part - can I suggest you read the 1st and 2nd parts below first. Cllr Keith Cunliffe with support of the Council Executive Leader Cllr David Molyneux MBE, are continuing Wigans proud tradition of caring for Wigan people in and out of work. They have adopted the higher figure of the National (Real) Living Wage Association which will benefit thousands of workers in the Wigan Adult Social Care Sector. Well done Kieth and David. Well done Sir Ian McCartney, Well done Wigan Council. Wigan leading the way.
THE VALUESgenerator Initiative
1 年2nd Part However, what underpinned McCartneys statement about the historic labour success, and which most observers missed, was when McCartney acknowledged the people of Wigan, as his inspiration. It was powerful stuff.
THE VALUESgenerator Initiative
1 年This is the 1st part of my posts on this important Wigan Adult Social Care initiative. When Sir Ian McCartney delivered the National Living Wage Legislation (NMW) in the UK Parliament in 1998, I felt that this was a historic moment for the Labour Party, the Labour Movement, the people of the UK and interestingly, Wigan. The Labour Party had campaigned for 100 years to get this NMW into legislation. All Labour MPs had been in the House of Commons 24/7 for two days without sleep to vote the NMW into UK Law. Margaret Beckett MP, as Secretary of State had introduced the NMW Bill, but it was Ian McCartney, who was at the dispatch box for most of that two days, non-stop, without sleep, promoting the Bill and defeating all Tory attempts to stop the NMW legislation from being passed by Parliament. When we sat down in the House of Commons chamber to hear the successful outcome of the vote, after watching McCartney perform at the Dispatch Box in the HOC Chamber, with literally no sleep for two days, McCartney’s winding up, speech, was wide and ranging justification of the 100 year campaign for the legislation, which would benefit millions of workers in the UK, and a fundamental rejection of the Conservative Party’s opposition.
Assessment Specialist at Cambridge Assessment International Education
1 年Great news
Sir Ian McCartney, former Chair Healthwatch Wigan, former MP and Minister
1 年Thanks Keith and your colleagues in the Labour Group for taking this further step to help work pay for those everyday working class families who day in day out make sure that we still have a health and social care system and much more, yet week in week out eek out a living despite their commitment to others. almost everyday I still think about starting in Wigan the National Campaign for a National Minimum Wage and we did it. One of Labour’s greatest achievements. Aye Ian in Trochry, Highland Perthshire.