Agenda item

Mandatory Voter ID

 

Proposed by: Cllr Wendy Thomas

 

Seconded by: Cllr John Bloxsom

 

Council believes that voting at elections is the cornerstone of democracy at both local

and national level and that participation in elections should be encouraged in all those who are qualified regardless of age, ethnicity, income or any protected characteristic.

 

We note that the New Burdens Funding Allocations Grant for 2022/23 and 2023/24 that has been allocated to the six District Councils in Gloucestershire will total £180, 639. There are some serious questions about whether this funding will be adequate to cover each of these councils’ costs and what the funding position would be if there were general election called.

 

These measures will be an expensive distraction, adding costs onto election authorities, which are experiencing budget pressures and staff shortages, and create barriers to voting, in particular for already disadvantaged groups, rather than promoting voter registration and actual voting.

 

The published list of acceptable ID required to vote is limited and Council is concerned that this measure could have a negative impact on voter turnout.

 

Council therefore resolves that the Leader should write to Minister for the Cabinet Office to call for adequate funding for the organisation of local elections, staff recruitment and training and for public awareness raising, in order to minimise the risk of voter disenfranchisement due to unawareness of, and lack of preparedness, with the new requirements.

 

Council believes that it is important that voting remains accessible for all and that the application process for a free voter card should be easy and accessible and therefore further resolves to actively co-operate with the district councils to support the promotion of public awareness, the making of applications for Voter Cards and their timely issuing.

 

Motion 914 - National Bus Fare Cap Grant Scheme

 

Proposed by: Cllr Cate Cody

Seconded by:  Cllr Beki Hoyland

 

Council notes:

 

• The Bus Fare Cap Grant scheme is a Government funded scheme introduced on most single (including Child and Student) bus journeys across England from 1st January 2023 until 31st March 2023.
• This is a positive intervention to help with the cost of living, taking many return journeys on the bus around the county from £7:50 to £4, nearly halving the cost per day.
• A comparable journey of a 40 mile round trip in the car will cost approximately £10
• Making the bus affordable means that more people, particularly in this largely rural County, could be encouraged to start using the bus rather than private cars for regular journeys.
• Elsewhere in Europe, governments are taking great steps to promote and sustain public transport, eg Germany with its new €49 monthly pass, valid across the country https://www.politico.eu/article/german-government-approves-nationwide-49-euro-public-transport-ticket/amp/
• Encouraging more bus journeys and therefore fewer car journeys is one way that this council can take effective action in line with the climate emergency declaration of 2019.
  
  

 

 

Council resolves to:

 

• Write to the Department for Transport and our six MPs to let them know how much we have appreciated this scheme and that we judge it would be beneficial to Gloucestershire to extend the duration of the scheme indefinitely.

 

 

 

 

 

Motion 915 -  Supporting a Carers Minimum Wage

 

Proposed by: Cllr. Jeremy Hilton

Seconded by: Cllr. Ben Evans

 

This Council notes:

 

• That senior Westminster politicians are calling for an uplift in the national minimum wage to those working in the social care sector, by adding an additional £2 per hour to the standard rate

·         That there are chronic staff shortages in social care, which in turn is putting pressure on the NHS who can’t place people and free up beds

·         There are currently 165,000 vacancies across England in social care, up 55,000 from a year ago; Gloucestershire currently has 1744 vacancies in social care. This is a vacancy rate is 9.4%

·         Workforce data shows people leaving social care for jobs in retail related roles that are better paid

·         According to the Resolution Foundation, over half of the 1.7 million roles in Adult Social Care would see their pay increase under this plan

·         There are around 16,500 people working in social care in Gloucestershire, so based on the national averages between 8,000 and 9,000 people locally would benefit directly from the policy

·         Around 1 in 3 care workers are paid minimum wage (Source: Skills for Care - Pay in the adult social care sector)

·         The Resolution Foundation ‘Who Cares?’ report estimates the cost of the policy nationally to be £890M

(This cost would be funded by doubling remote gaming duty from 21% to 42% (raising another £970M, assuming no behaviour change).  Public Health England estimate the cost each year of gambling related harm in the UK is £1.3 Billion a year through ill-health, family and employment breakdown and crime, so would be also discouraging gambling through the tax and so any behaviour change would have associated cost benefits.)

 

 

This Council believes that:

·         Care workers are a vital part of the workforce and have, for far too long, been undervalued in terms of their pay

·         That a Carers Minimum Wage should be introduced, which would see people in social care paid at least £2 an hour more than the national minimum wage at the time

·         This would bring their minimum pay up to £11.50 p/h today and £12.42 p/h from April

 

 

This Council therefore resolves to:

·         Write to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Mr Steve Barclay MP, asking him to review pay in social care and to commit to a Carers Minimum Wage

·         Seek the support of the Local Government Association for the introduction of a Carers Minimum Wage

Pledge our support as a Council for seeing a Carers Minimum Wage introduced

 

 

 

 

Motion 913 – Mandatory Voter ID

 

8.1       Cllr Wendy Thomas proposed, and Cllr John Bloxsom seconded the following motion:

 

Council believes that voting at elections is the cornerstone of democracy at both local and national level and that participation in elections should be encouraged in all those who are qualified regardless of age, ethnicity, income or any protected characteristic.

 

We note that the New Burdens Funding Allocations Grant for 2022/23 and 2023/24 that has been allocated to the six District Councils in Gloucestershire will total £180, 639. There are some serious questions about whether this funding will be adequate to cover each of these councils’ costs and what the funding position would be if there were general election called.

 

These measures will be an expensive distraction, adding costs onto election authorities, which are experiencing budget pressures and staff shortages, and create barriers to voting, in particular for already disadvantaged groups, rather than promoting voter registration and actual voting.

 

The published list of acceptable ID required to vote is limited and Council is concerned that this measure could have a negative impact on voter turnout.

 

Council therefore resolves that the Leader should write to Minister for the Cabinet Office to call for adequate funding for the organisation of local elections, staff recruitment and training and for public awareness raising, in order to minimise the risk of voter disenfranchisement due to unawareness of, and lack of preparedness, with the new requirements.

 

Council believes that it is important that voting remains accessible for all and that the application process for a free voter card should be easy and accessible and therefore further resolves to actively co-operate with the district councils to support the promotion of public awareness, the making of applications for Voter Cards and their timely issuing.

 

8.2       Cllr Thomas suggested that there was little evidence and data behind the decision from Government to implement mandatory voter ID. The reported levels of electoral fraud in recent years had been incredibly low, for example in 2021, there were 315 allegations reported, with only one leading to a caution. It was suggested that this was an expensive and complicated solution to a non-existing problem and had the potential to lead to inaccessible and unworkable elections, particularly those due this May (2023). She expressed concern that the changes disproportionality affected younger people, who were less likely to have the adequate ID readily available and were already more likely to be disenfranchised. It was also suggested that the money allocated to date for local authorities did not cover all the additional costs of implementing this new voting system, adding that this money could have been put towards encouraging people to vote overall.

8.3       In seconding the motion, Cllr Bloxsom shared that the Electoral Commission found 4% of the UK population did not have the required ID, which equated to around 2 million voters. The Home Office online tracker to date showed they had only received 29,000 applications for the free ID card. He reiterated that he felt this was going to lead to a major problem at the polling stations. He added his serious concern around the cost for local authorities to implement these changes with the estimated total cost being £180m UK-wide over the next 10 years. Despite this, so far only a £180,000 upfront grant had been allocated for the six district councils in Gloucestershire. The remaining would require councils to apply after the event for justification-led bids to reimburse additional costs. He stressed that there needed to be as much time and resource as possible available for the local authorities to run this year’s elections as safely as possible. He echoed comments from Cllr Thomas around the existence of data to support this change and its potential to further deter people from voting.

8.4       Cllr Tim Harman proposed the following amendment to the motion:

Council believes that voting at elections is the cornerstone of democracy at both local and national level and that participation in elections should be encouraged in all those who are qualified regardless of age, ethnicity, income or any protected characteristic.

We note that the New Burdens Funding Allocations Grant for 2022/23 and 2023/24 that has been allocated to the six District Councils in Gloucestershire will total £180, 639. There are some serious questions about whether this funding will be adequate to cover each of these councils’ costs and what the funding position would be if there were general election called.

These measures will be an expensive distraction, adding costs onto election authorities, which are experiencing budget pressures and staff shortages, and create barriers to voting, in particular for already disadvantaged groups, rather than promoting voter registration and actual voting.

We welcome that a comprehensive awareness campaign that is being run by the government and Electoral Commission, including targeted work and advice for Local Authorities and charities to engage those most likely to need support with the changes: Disabled people; Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller communities; Older people; People experiencing homelessness; People who are registered to vote anonymously; Trans and non-binary people.

The published list of acceptable ID required to vote is limited and Council is concerned that this measure could have a negative impact on voter turnout comprehensive and includes the option to register for a free Voter Card which will ensure that no one is prohibited from voting due to financial barriers.

Council therefore resolves that the Leader should support our district councils in raising any funding challenges not met by the New Burdens funding  by writing to the write to Minister for the Cabinet Office to call for ensureadequate funding for the organisation of local elections, staff recruitment and training and for public awareness raising, in order to minimise the risk of voter disenfranchisement due to unawareness of, and lack of preparedness, with the new requirements.

Council believes that it is important that voting remains accessible for all and that the application process for a free voter card should be easy and accessible and therefore further resolves to actively cooperate with the district councils to support the promotion of public awareness, the making of applications for Voter Cards and their timely issuing.

8.5       Cllr Harman stated that the UK was very much in the minority for not having voter ID requirements in comparison to Europe. He reminded members that this motion was actually about ensuring adequate funding for the local authorities implementing this legislation (which had already been passed), not to reopen the debate about its introduction. He highlighted that the proposed amendment addressed two key points: in a two-tier local government structure, it was the district councils who facilitated elections, not the county council and that there was a comprehensive campaign being led by Government to raise awareness of the changes. The amendment supported the need of the original motion to ensure district councils were adequately funded to implement these changes.

8.6       Cllr Stephen Davies seconded the proposed amendment but reserved his right to speak.

8.7       The amendment was not accepted as a friendly amendment. The debate therefore continued on the amendment.

8.8       Several members expressed why they would not vote for the amendment. They suggested that this change in legislation was not about large-scale voter fraud but actually as a way to suppress voter turnout, particularly within certain demographics, many of whom were already disenfranchised. They saw it as a gross waste of £180m, particularly given the current economic circumstances and an unnecessary barrier to democracy. It was also suggested that the public awareness campaign had not been effective.

8.9       In a country where voter turnout was already low, some members felt it was incumbent on everyone to ensure voting was made as simple and as easy as possible, not to put further barriers in the way. They shared views expressed by residents that were either unaware of the new requirements or who said that it had deterred them for wanting to vote in the future.

8.10     Cllr Mark Hawthorne, Leader of the Council, expressed his confusion at the ongoing debate. He reiterated comments from Cllr Harman that the motion was about the process being fully funded and properly promoted, which he felt the amendment did not change. The amended motion remained committed to supporting adequate funding for communications and implementation. In response to the argument around lack of evidence, Cllr Hawthorne stressed that this type of fraud was so easy to do that he felt it was undetectable in most cases.

8.11     Several members expressed that the allegation this legislation was being used for voter suppression was unacceptable. They referenced the amended paragraph highlighting the targeted engagement campaign which was included in the Governments communication plan.

8.12     Cllr Ben Evans proposed, seconded by Cllr Lisa Spivey, that members moved to vote on the amendment. This was supported unanimously.

8.13     Cllr Davies as seconder of the amendment lost his reserved right to speak due to the amendment going to the vote.

8.14     The proposer of the amendment summarised that the need for voter ID had been in operation for over 20 years in Northern Ireland.

8.15     The proposer of the original motion Cllr Thomas summarised in suggesting that the use of the word ‘comprehensive’ within the amendment was not suitable, echoing comments that the communications strategy had been flawed and the Electoral Commission itself said the 2023 elections were likely to be unworkable and less accessible due to the short timeframe in which to embed and implement all the changes.

8.16     On being put to the vote, the amendment was carried by a majority vote and became the substantive motion.

8.17     The substantive motion was then put to the vote and it was

RESOLVED that

Council believes that voting at elections is the cornerstone of democracy at both local and national level and that participation in elections should be encouraged in all those who are qualified regardless of age, ethnicity, income or any protected characteristic.

We note that the New Burdens Funding Allocations Grant for 2022/23 and 2023/24 that has been allocated to the six District Councils in Gloucestershire will total £180, 639.

We welcome that a comprehensive awareness campaign that is being run by the government and Electoral Commission, including targeted work and advice for Local Authorities and charities to engage those most likely to need support with the changes: Disabled people; Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller communities; Older people; People experiencing homelessness; People who are registered to vote anonymously; Trans and non-binary people.

The published list of acceptable ID required to vote is comprehensive and includes the option to register for a free Voter Card which will ensure that no one is prohibited from voting due to financial barriers.

Council therefore resolves that the Leader should support our district councils in raising any funding challenges not met by the New Burdens funding  by writing to the Minister for the Cabinet Office to ensure adequate funding for the organisation of local elections, staff recruitment and training and for public awareness raising, in order to minimise the risk of voter disenfranchisement due to unawareness of, and lack of preparedness, with the new requirements.

Council believes that it is important that voting remains accessible for all and that the application process for a free voter card should be easy and accessible and therefore further resolves to actively cooperate with the district councils to support the promotion of public awareness, the making of applications for Voter Cards and their timely issuing.

 

Motion 914 - National Bus Fare Cap Grant Scheme

8.18     Cllr Cate Cody proposed, and Cllr Beki Hoyland seconded the motion as follows:

 

            Council notes:

 

·         The Bus Fare Cap Grant scheme is a Government funded scheme introduced on most single (including Child and Student) bus journeys across England from 1st January 2023 until 31st March 2023.

·         This is a positive intervention to help with the cost of living, taking many return journeys on the bus around the county from £7:50 to £4, nearly halving the cost per day.

·         A comparable journey of a 40 mile round trip in the car will cost approximately £10.

·         Making the bus affordable means that more people, particularly in this largely rural County, could be encouraged to start using the bus rather than private cars for regular journeys.

·         Elsewhere in Europe, governments are taking great steps to promote and sustain public transport, eg Germany with its new €49 monthly pass, valid across the country https://www.politico.eu/article/german-government-approves-nationwide-49-euro-public-transport-ticket/amp/

·         Encouraging more bus journeys and therefore fewer car journeys is one way that this council can take effective action in line with the climate emergency declaration of 2019.

Council resolves to:

 

·         Write to the Department for Transport and our six MPs to let them know how much we have appreciated this scheme and that we judge it would be beneficial to Gloucestershire to extend the duration of the scheme indefinitely.

8.19     Cllr Cody opened by welcoming the extension from the Government for the £2 fare scheme until June 2023. It was stated that for Gloucestershire, 32% of emissions came from transport use and a full bus was one of the best ways to reduce this pollution, as well as reducing congestion and the need for road maintenance. It was shared that since the £2 fare scheme had been introduced, she had noticed many more people wanting to try bus travel, even if just for some of their journeys. To extend this scheme indefinitely would give people more time to form and embed new habits and change the way they travelled permanently. Bus transport was a cheaper option than driving overall and was of course a win for the environment.

 

8.20     Cllr Hoyland seconded the motion and highlighted an example of the difference bus travel could make. She stated that the 790 miles of the M25, if just used by cars carrying the average load of 1.6 occupants travelling at 60mph, had capacity for 19,000 people. Coaches travelling at the same speed, each carrying 30 passengers, raised the M25's capacity to 260,000 and reduced carbon emissions per passenger mile by an average of 88%. She shared examples of other governments around the world who had subsidised public transport to make sure it was a viable alternative such as The Deutchland-Ticket in Germany.  A monthly subscription ticket of 49 Euros gave unlimited travel on all local public transport. It was summarised that Government had to be part of the paradigm shift, it could not be done without support for the infrastructure and the market; to change from a society designed and built round the car to one where owning your own private car was rarely necessary.

 

8.21     Members across the chamber spoke in support of this motion. Cllr Philip Robinson, Cabinet Member for Bus Transport, welcomed its content wholeheartedly. He shared with members that the new Secretary of State for Transport had recently approved the Council’s request for extending the COVID-19 Bus Service Support Grant with a further £155m, as well as extending the £2 fare cap for a further 3 months. He suggested that this showed how serious the Government was taking the need to improve public transport, which was shared by the administration at GCC. Extending the £2 fare cap indefinitely would continue to help support residents with cost-of-living pressures and increase bus usage, which was key to protecting and growing the bus network.

 

8.22     Some members raised concern that the motion did not go far enough. There remained extensive areas of Gloucestershire only having access to minimal services, as well as the lack of connection across providers/routes/other transport modes on ticket prices and disparity in access to real-time information at bus stops. They felt if Government were serious about improving bus usage, there was far more left to do. It was added that Government could not expect local authorities to run an efficient bus service by throwing ‘lifelines’ on funding. The extension of the £2 fare cap would be a hollow gesture if the pressure did not remain to tackle all these other issues.

 

8.23     On being put to the vote, it was unanimously

RESOLVED that

Council notes:

·         The Bus Fare Cap Grant scheme is a Government funded scheme introduced on most single (including Child and Student) bus journeys across England from 1st January 2023 until 31st March 2023.

·         This is a positive intervention to help with the cost of living, taking many return journeys on the bus around the county from £7:50 to £4, nearly halving the cost per day.

·         A comparable journey of a 40-mile round trip in the car will cost approximately £10.

·         Making the bus affordable means that more people, particularly in this largely rural County, could be encouraged to start using the bus rather than private cars for regular journeys.

·         Elsewhere in Europe, governments are taking great steps to promote and sustain public transport, e.g., Germany with its new €49 monthly pass, valid across the country https://www.politico.eu/article/german-governmentapproves-nationwide-49-euro-public-transport-ticket/amp/

·         Encouraging more bus journeys and therefore fewer car journeys is one way that this council can take effective action in line with the climate emergency declaration of 2019.

 

Council resolves to:

·         Write to the Department for Transport and our six MPs to let them know how much we have appreciated this scheme and that we judge it would be beneficial to Gloucestershire to extend the duration of the scheme indefinitely.

 

Motion 915 - Supporting a Carers Minimum Wage

8.24     Cllr Jeremy Hilton proposed, and Cllr Ben Evans seconded the motion as follows:

This Council notes:

·         That senior Westminster politicians are calling for an uplift in the national minimum wage to those working in the social care sector, by adding an additional £2 per hour to the standard rate.

·         That there are chronic staff shortages in social care, which in turn is putting pressure on the NHS who can’t place people and free up beds.

·         There are currently 165,000 vacancies across England in social care, up 55,000 from a year ago; Gloucestershire currently has 1744 vacancies in social care. This is a vacancy rate is 9.4%.

·         Workforce data shows people leaving social care for jobs in retail related roles that are better paid.

·         According to the Resolution Foundation, over half of the 1.7 million roles in Adult Social Care would see their pay increase under this plan.

·         There are around 16,500 people working in social care in Gloucestershire, so based on the national averages between 8,000 and 9,000 people locally would benefit directly from the policy.

·         Around 1 in 3 care workers are paid minimum wage (Source: Skills for Care - Pay in the adult social care sector).

·         The Resolution Foundation ‘Who Cares?’ report estimates the cost of the policy nationally to be £890M.

(This cost would be funded by doubling remote gaming duty from 21% to 42% (raising another £970M, assuming no behaviour change).  Public Health England estimate the cost each year of gambling related harm in the UK is £1.3 Billion a year through ill-health, family and employment breakdown and crime, so would be also discouraging gambling through the tax and so any behaviour change would have associated cost benefits.)

This Council believes that:

·         Care workers are a vital part of the workforce and have, for far too long, been undervalued in terms of their pay.

·         That a Carers Minimum Wage should be introduced, which would see people in social care paid at least £2 an hour more than the national minimum wage at the time

·         This would bring their minimum pay up to £11.50 p/h today and £12.42 p/h from April

This Council therefore resolves to:

 

·         Write to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Mr Steve Barclay MP, asking him to review pay in social care and to commit to a Carers Minimum Wage.

·         Seek the support of the Local Government Association for the introduction of a Carers Minimum Wage.

·         Pledge our support as a Council for seeing a Carers Minimum Wage introduced.

8.25     Cllr Hilton shared that he had brought this motion due to a personal experience of needing to secure care for a family member. The brokerage team at GCC had great difficulty trying to commission a care package, which they attributed to ongoing issues relating to recruitment and retention. However, once the package was commissioned, the family experienced incredibly kind, gentle, and professional staff.  However, those staff and  were currently being paid less than £10 an hour. It was stated that there were currently 165,000 vacancies across England and 1,744 in Gloucestershire. Care workers provided vitally important care for the most vulnerable in our society and the proposed wage increase would go some way towards improving recruitment, retention, and staff reward.

8.26     Cllr Evans echoed comments made by the proposer that care staff across the country go above and beyond to do a remarkable job for our loved ones. This resolution would go some way towards being really clear how much they are valued by us as a Council and individually for their diligent care and skill in their work.

8.27     Cllr Carole Allaway-Martin proposed an amendment to the motion which was seconded by Cllr Mark Hawthorne. The amendment was accepted as friendly by the proposer of the original motion and therefore became part of the substantive motion:

This Council notes:

·         That senior Westminster politicians are calling for an uplift in the national minimum wage to those working in the social care sector, by adding an additional £2 per hour to the standard rate.

·         That there are chronic staff shortages in social care, which in turn is putting pressure on the NHS who can’t place people and free up beds.

·         There are currently 165,000 vacancies across England in social care, up 55,000 from a year ago; Gloucestershire currently has 1744 vacancies in social care. This is a vacancy rate is 9.4%

·         Workforce data shows people leaving social care for jobs in retail related roles that are better paid According to the Resolution Foundation, over half of the 1.7 million roles in Adult Social Care would see their pay increase under this plan.

·         There are around 16,500 people working in social care in Gloucestershire, so based on the national averages between 8,000 and 9,000 people locally would benefit directly from the policy.

·         Around 1 in 3 care workers are paid minimum wage (Source: Skills for Care - Pay in the adult social care sector)

·         The Resolution Foundation ‘Who Cares?’ report estimates the cost of the policy nationally to be £890M (This cost would be funded by doubling remote gaming duty from 21% to 42% (raising another £970M, assuming no behaviour change). Public Health England estimate the cost each year of gambling related harm in the UK is £1.3 Billion a year through ill-health, family and employment breakdown and crime, so would be also discouraging gambling through the tax and so any behaviour change would have associated cost benefits.)

 

This Council believes that:

·         Care workers are a vital part of the workforce and have, for far too long, been undervalued in terms of their pay.

·         The government, local authorities, and relevant associations should work together to explore and then implement measures to attract and retain care workers. That a This should include, but not be restricted to, looking at a Carers Minimum Wage should be introduced, which would see people in social care paid at least £2 an hour more than the national minimum wage at the time.

·         This would bring their minimum pay up to £11.50 p/h today and £12.42 p/h from April.

 

This Council therefore resolves to:

·         Write to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Mr Steve Barclay MP, asking him to review pay in social care and to commit to a Carers Minimum Wage

·         Seek the support of the Local Government Association for the introduction of a Carers Minimum Wage

·         Pledge our support the Local Government Association’s call for a 10-year workforce plan for Adult Social Care

·         Pledge our support as a Council for seeing a Carers Minimum Wage introduced.

 

8.28     Cllr Allaway-Martin, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care Commissioning, shared some additional context to the current pressures. She stated that although this was an issue about pay and conditions of work, there were many other areas where care workers wanted to see an improvement, for example, access to salary, career pathways, training, and parity of esteem with NHS colleagues. The existing historical and complex system meant that care providers were commercial businesses that set their own terms and conditions within a competitive market. A recent study in Gloucestershire which engaged with providers found that their perspective on the cost of care very much echoed aspirations of the workforce and its customers. They wanted to be sufficiently resourced to sustain and improve outcomes for those in their care. The now amended motion would add weight to the recent draft recommendations of the Hewitt Review.

8.29     Members highlighted that this was one of the lowest paid jobs in our economy, and it was the workforce we trusted with our most precious people. These were people that we praised during Covid for supporting our society, and it was fundamental to show how much we value in financial terms, the contribution they make. A member added another ongoing issue around carers not currently being paid for travel time between clients.

8.30     Cllr Mark Hawthorne, Leader of the Council, welcomed this debate and updated members on the huge amount of work and money invested in this area already by the Council and other local authorities. This included sign on, and retention, bonuses to try to recruit and stabilise the workforce. Many millions of pounds had been paid out, and vitally, directly to the carer workers and not the companies. It was stressed that members should not underestimate the importance of achieving parity with the NHS as without it, local authorities ended up competing for good quality staff. In addition, there was a need for the LGA to consider a 10-year workforce strategy which not only addressed ensuring acceptable pay but also recognised that this was a shrinking workforce nationally.

8.31     In summing up, the proposer thanked members for their support, echoing comments about the complex and wider picture of pressures in this sector, particularly in reference to the need for parity with NHS colleagues. Cllr Hilton felt this motion could result in a proposal that would have an immediate improvement for the workforce.

8.32     On being put to the vote, it was unanimously

RESOLVED that

This Council notes:

·         That senior Westminster politicians are calling for an uplift in the national minimum wage to those working in the social care sector, by adding an additional £2 per hour to the standard rate.

·         That there are chronic staff shortages in social care, which in turn is putting pressure on the NHS who can’t place people and free up beds.

·         There are currently 165,000 vacancies across England in social care, up 55,000 from a year ago; Gloucestershire currently has 1744 vacancies in social care. This is a vacancy rate is 9.4%

·         Workforce data shows people leaving social care for jobs in retail related roles that are better paid According to the Resolution Foundation, over half of the 1.7 million roles in Adult Social Care would see their pay increase under this plan.

·         There are around 16,500 people working in social care in Gloucestershire, so based on the national averages between 8,000 and 9,000 people locally would benefit directly from the policy.

·         Around 1 in 3 care workers are paid minimum wage (Source: Skills for Care - Pay in the adult social care sector)

 

This Council believes that:

·         Care workers are a vital part of the workforce and have, for far too long, been undervalued in terms of their pay.

·         The government, local authorities, and relevant associations should work together to explore and then implement measures to attract and retain care workers. This should include, but not be restricted to, looking at a Carers Minimum Wage, which would see people in social care paid at least £2 an hour more than the national minimum wage at the time.

·         This would bring their minimum pay up to £11.50 p/h today and £12.42 p/h from April.

 

This Council therefore resolves to:

·         Write to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Mr Steve Barclay MP, asking him to review pay in social care and to commit to a Carers Minimum Wage

·         Seek the support of the Local Government Association for the introduction of a Carers Minimum Wage

·         Pledge our support the Local Government Association’s call for a 10-year workforce plan for Adult Social Care

·         Pledge our support as a Council for seeing a Carers Minimum Wage introduced.