Current status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 17 February 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to employers in the care sector to help them pay employees the Living Wage.
Since 2016, the Scottish Government has provided funding to ensure that adult social care workers, delivering direct care in the third and independent sectors, are paid at least the Real Living Wage (RLW).
From April 2023, these workers will see their pay increase to a minimum of £10.90 per hour; in line with the RLW rate for the 2023/24 Financial Year. This represents an increase of 3.8% from the £10.50 minimum rate that was introduced in April 2022 and is a 14.7% increase for these workers in the last two years; with pay rising from at least £9.50 per hour in April 2021 to at least £10.90 in April 2023.
This funding will be delivered through Local Government contracts and the Scottish Government will transfer £100 million to Local Government to deliver this uplift to providers in the third and independent sectors; this investment takes Scottish Government recurring funding for adult social care pay in commissioned services to £0.6 billion per year.