Coventry City Council Council services My Account Search Home Latest news Health and social care Care workers need proper recognition if Government White Paper ‘People at the Heart of Care’ is to succeed Care workers need proper recognition if Government White Paper ‘People at the Heart of Care’ is to succeed Published Friday, 03 December 2021 A senior councillor responsible for adult social care in Coventry has welcomed the Government’s White Paper titled, ‘People at the Heart of Care’, published this week but believes that - for it to succeed – the Government must quickly act to create a care system where people are recognised for the caring work they do and rewarded appropriately. The white paper covers a number of areas aimed at delivering the objectives of enabling people to: have choice, control, and support to live independent lives. access outstanding quality and tailored care and support. find adult social care fair and accessible. The govt released its long anticipated white paper this week on the future of social care ‘People at the Heart of Care’ which sets out its 10 year ambition for social care. Much of the content and areas that the paper seeks to improve are in line with Coventry’s ongoing work including prevention, housing and the use of technology. The white paper announces areas of funding against specific priority areas. But this is money that will be drawn from the £5.4bn announced in September 2021 and is not in addition to this. The funding announcements within the White Paper totals around £1.050bn nationally however gross spend for Adult Social Care nationally in 2020/21 was £21.2bn. Councillor Mal Mutton, Cabinet Member for Adult Services, said: “The white paper fails to address the critical issue of pay and conditions for the front line adult social care workforce apart from reiterating the £500m social care workforce grant announced in September 2021 and the increase to National Living Wage from April 2022.” She said; “The White Paper also says little regarding Health and Care integration other than indicating that this matter will be dealt with through a further white paper. Councillor Mutton, added: “Although there is little to disagree with in terms of the content and ambitions of the white paper its ambition for change will not be met unless or until the urgent and pressing issue of pay and conditions for front line care workers is resolved. “Thousands of people working in critical care jobs that require compassion and intelligence must be recognised and rewarded appropriately.” She said: “Simply put, without carers there is no social care, and all the warm policy intentions in the world mean nothing until we can stem the flow of people leaving care and create a care system where the critical jobs are rewarded with a fair salary. “Care workers helped get us through the pandemic and to not take the opportunity of the white paper to address this issue is a national disgrace! The white paper is a good start on the road to improvement but is nothing more. “There is no new money, just increased clarity on how part of the £5.4bn is to be used. It will be a challenge, to say the least, to deliver the ambitions of the white paper on this basis.” News links News archive Coventry City Council news RSS feed Feeds from the Web Council meeting webcasts Is there anything wrong with this page? Privacy notice Accessibility Listen to or translate this website Cookies Terms and conditions All content © 2021 Coventry City Council. All rights reserved. External Link Icon Cookie Control