Social care workers make a huge difference to the lives of more than 140,000 people in the UK with a learning disability, helping them to live the best lives they can.
Whether that’s supporting people to find a job, giving them their medication or helping them enjoy activities in the community, the breadth of work, the skills they need and the value they bring is huge.
But due to years of chronic underfunding in the workforce, social care workers remain underpaid and undervalued across the sector for the life-changing work they do.
The result? A social care crisis in which hundreds of thousands of people are leaving their jobs in the sector because they are unable to make ends meet, disabled people left without support, and families who are exhausted from taking on the care of their loved ones.
This is why we're urging all political parties ahead of the next general election to commit to improving pay for the social care workforce.
Social care workers deserve better pay. Do you agree? Sign the petition today and help us campaign for a truly valued social care workforce.
- What Mencap is calling for
We need all political parties to take urgent action to ensure there are enough social care workers to support people with a learning disability and anyone else who needs it.
We have four recommendations for all the political parties:
- Inject £8.4 billion into the social care system immediately to meet future demand, improve access to care and cover the full cost of social care
- A minimum wage for social care staff that is similar to NHS band 3 staff
- Commit to introducing a National Long-Term Plan for the social care workforce
- Introduce a cap on agency charging.
- Find out more about the 'Why We Care' campaign
