Councils are set to be sidelined in negotiations over fair pay for adult social care staff, with no guarantee that all their costs will be covered by government, the LGA has warned.
In July, the Government announced that an independent Adult Social Care Negotiating Body will deliver the first ever Fair Pay Agreement (FPA) for care workers in England.
Directly employed council staff working in adult social care will continue to benefit from being part of the National Joint Council ‘Green Book’ collective bargaining process, alongside other local government workers.
However, the LGA remains concerned that the funding proposed is not likely to be sufficient to cover the full cost of an FPA.
Cllr Dr Wendy Taylor MBE, Chair of the LGA’s Health and Wellbeing Committee, said: “Councils need assurances that all costs they incur arising from the introduction of FPAs will be covered by government.
“Councils have a critical role in commissioning adult social care for local people and statutory responsibilities, but local government is set to be sidelined in the FPA process.
“We strongly urge government to reconsider this – local government must be part of decision-making to avoid a scenario where an FPA jeopardises the supply of care and sustainability of council finances.”