Social Care

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:24 pm on 25 October 2022.

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Photo of Hefin David Hefin David Labour 2:24, 25 October 2022

This question follows on, in many ways, from my question last week about the ambulance service. This is the other end of the scale, where delays further down the way with the ambulance service might be caused by delayed transfers of care, which of course rely hugely on the social care workforce. I took a call this week and last week as well from Neville Southall, who is working for Unison, trying to get care homes to recognise the value of their workforce, and working with care homes and Unison to do that, and he said there are a few things that could happen to help things improve. First of all, pay, and the First Minister has recognised that the real living wage is vital; there is also recruitment, as those people who are working in the care sector are finding that they are overburdened with work; there is working conditions, which lack parity with the NHS; there is trade union recognition, which is vitally important; and overall that amounts to parity of esteem with their fellow NHS workers. And what Neville Southall told me was that he was finding that people in the care sector were feeling less recognised than their NHS counterparts during the pandemic. So, all of these things together are important. Would the First Minister be willing to allow officials to meet with me and with Neville Southall, and the Minister, to discuss some of these issues and try to find a way through that would be helpful to him in his work?

Minister

Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.

trade union

A group of workers who have united to promote their common interests.