Real Living Wage cost sparks fear of care closures

A group of care organisations is citing "serious concerns"

Some care providers could close due to having to pay their staff the real living wage, a group representing the sector has claimed.

Cymorth Cymru, an umbrella organisation representing some care providers, said a 3.3% increase ministers gave to local authorities to help pay the wage - which is £12.60 an hour - was not reaching care providers.

The head of the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) said ensuring the wage was paid was one of its biggest priorities.

The Welsh government said the wage should be paid according to national guidelines.

Annalise Jeannette lives in a house with four other people with learning disabilities in Cardiff.

Supported by workers paid for by Dimensions Cymru, a charity financed by local councils and health boards, she said their help made a world of difference.

"I get support for going to the doctors and dentists, going away, shopping, without which I wouldn't go," she said.

"I get nervous if I go to places I'm not familiar with."

Bringing in the real living wage for care workers is a central part of Welsh Labour's agenda.

But a group of care organisations said in letters to ministers, seen by BBC Wales, that the real living wage money is not reaching the frontline.

The letter expressed "serious concerns… arising from protracted discussions, inconsistent approaches and insufficient fee uplifts to deliver the real living wage commitment".

The Welsh government replied that it had "thus far had no concerns raised by any local authority around their ability to fund the real living wage for social care workers".

Cymorth Cymru director Katie Dalton said agencies may go under if the money does not come through.

She said the cash was "within the local government settlement which increased by approximately 3% last year, and many social care providers we work with say they need uplifts of between 9% and 10% to cover the increase in the living wage".

The Welsh government said its public service spending plans would be set out in the upcoming draft budget

She added that the cash was "hidden" in the local government settlement and "not easily identifiable".

Caring organisations want the money ringfenced.

"Our biggest priority is making sure the real living wage is paid," WLGA leader Mr Morgan told Politics Wales.

He said all local authorities had signed up to the scheme, while admitting it came with "more financial pressures".

One of the ways to fix social care, he said, was for people in the sector to be paid a decent wage, meaning "more funding will be needed".

The Welsh government said it had provided £113m through the local government settlement since 2022 to "ensure our social care workers receive at least the real living wage".

It added: "The new national framework for commissioning of care and support requires local authorities and health boards to support employers in improving the status, well-being and working conditions of health and social care workers.

"It also requires care and support service commissioners to have regard to Welsh government guidance on implementing the Real Living Wage."