Tag Archives: care workers

16-18 May 2025 – the (long) weekend’s press releases (part 3)

  • Davey on UK-EU Summit: PM must be ambitious and not “dragged back” by Badenoch and Farage
  • £5bn from Youth Mobility Scheme would give Government “nowhere to hide” on winter fuel payment, say Lib Dems
  • Davey on care visas: ‘Don’t leave our loved ones in the lurch’
  • 2024 worst on record for ambulance equipment faults

Davey on UK-EU Summit: PM must be ambitious and not “dragged back” by Badenoch and Farage

Ahead of the UK-EU Summit, Lib Dem leader Ed Davey has urged the Prime Minister to be “bold and ambitious for our country” and ignore “dinosaurs fighting old battles” in Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage.

The Lib Dems wrote to Labour MPs over the weekend, urging them to back closer trade ties with the EU to boost the public finances and avoid cuts to support for vulnerable families and pensioners.

Lib Dem leader Ed Davey said:

Keir Starmer must be bold and ambitious for our country in today’s summit. Voters were promised change by this government, and they have to deliver.

Being truly ambitious, including a new UK-EU customs union, would be the single biggest thing ministers could do to boost growth and fix the public finances.

Anything less would be a choice to limit growth, harming living standards and hitting the NHS and other public services.

The Prime Minister must ignore the dinosaurs fighting old battles, who want to drag us back to the destructive Brexit wars of the past, and focus on getting the best deal possible for the UK.

£5bn from Youth Mobility Scheme would give Government “nowhere to hide” on winter fuel payment, say Lib Dems

The Centre for European Reform claims that a Youth Mobility Scheme could add 0.45% to GDP over the long-term. New House of Commons Library analysis commissioned by the Liberal Democrats suggests that such growth could add roughly £5 billion to exchequer revenues a year.

The House of Commons Library has estimated that if GDP was 0.45% higher this could mean an additional tax revenue of around £5 billion a year in the long-run. The 0.45% figure was arrived at by a Centre for European Reform study on the economic impact of a Youth Mobility Scheme between the UK and EU.

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26 September 2024 – today’s press releases

  • Better pay needed to resolve recruitment crisis in care
  • Cole-Hamilton responds to Eye Pavilion statement

Better pay needed to resolve recruitment crisis in care

Almost half of leaving care workers cite pay as key factor as Welsh Lib Dems call for creation of carers wage

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have proposed the creation of a new carers wage in Wales, to help resolve the current recruitment crisis amongst care workers.
Speaking in the Senedd on Tuesday, Welsh Lib Dem leader Jane Dodds urged the Welsh Government to adopt proposals which would see care workers receive a £2 an hour pay increase on top of the …

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3-5 February 2023 – the weekend’s press releases (part 2)

  • One in seven have stayed at home to look after a relative due to lack of care staff
  • Truss Piece: Withdraw the £115,000 Ex-PM Allowance

One in seven have stayed at home to look after a relative due to lack of care staff

  • One in seven had to stay at home to look after a relative because of lack of care workers
  • Lib Dem Leader calls for new ‘Carer’s Minimum Wage’ to tackle chronic staff shortages in social care
  • New figures reveal care workers paid less than those in retail, hospitality and supermarkets

A staggering one in seven UK adults say they’ve had to stay at home to look after a relative over the last 12 months due to a lack of care workers, a new poll has revealed.

The survey, commissioned by the Liberal Democrats, reveals millions of Brits have had to step in to look after a loved one due to a lack of professional carers in their area. A further one in five (22%) UK adults say either they or someone else they know have paid for a private carer to look after a relative.

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey is today announcing proposals for a new Carer’s Minimum Wage, to tackle the huge staff shortages in the social care sector. Under the Liberal Democrat plans, social care workers would be paid at least £2 an hour more than the current minimum wage, bringing their pay up to at least £11.50 an hour today – and £12.42 from this April. The proposals would benefit 850,000 workers, making up more than half of all people working in frontline care.

The Liberal Democrats have said that the Government must give councils an extra £1bn a year to cover the higher staff costs, and say ministers must always take account of minimum wage rises when setting social care budgets. The party says its policy would be funded by increasing the tax on online gambling providers’ profits, known as Remote Gaming Duty, to 42%. Research by Public Health England has revealed gambling’s negative health impact and the pressures that it puts on the healthcare system.

The proposals would tackle soaring staff vacancies in the care sector. There are currently a staggering 165,000 vacancies in social care, up 55,000 since last year, with one in nine frontline care jobs vacant. These chronic staff shortages are leading to patients being left stuck in hospital waiting for social care, contributing to record-breaking waits in A&E and dangerous ambulance handover delays.

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1 September 2020 – the overnight press release

Bill introduced to give health and care workers right to remain

The Liberal Democrats will today introduce a Bill calling on the Government to offer indefinite leave to remain to foreign nationals currently working in the health and social care sectors.

Home Affairs Spokesperson Christine Jardine, who is moving the Ten Minute Rule Bill, has warned it is unacceptable that people who put their lives on the line during Covid-19 should not be welcome to stay.

The Liberal Democrats have secured cross-party support from Labour, Conservative, SNP, Green, Plaid, DUP and Alliance MPs.

Ahead of the Bill’s reading on Tuesday, Christine

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6-7 June 2020 – the weekend’s press releases

  • Govt failing NHS staff and care workers
  • Govt must not sleep walk into a second peak

Govt failing NHS staff and care workers

Responding to reports that NHS trusts were not consulted over new face coverings rule, Acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey said:

This is yet another betrayal by the Government of the NHS and care staff who are putting their lives on the line every single day.

Why is the Secretary of State prioritising press conference announcements over consultation with NHS staff? Now we face a situation where our stretched and under-resourced NHS is having to adapt to these new

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