Mayors call for carers to be given a living wage

North East Mayor Kim McGuinness has joined forces with Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham to call for a wage boost for carers

- DANIEL HOLLAND

THE North East mayor has urged the Government to guarantee all care workers in England a real living wage.

Kim McGuinness and Greater Manchester counterpart Andy Burnham have demanded immediate action to lift hundreds of thousands of carers out of low pay and ensure they can meet basic living costs.

While care workers in both Scotland and Wales earn at least the real living wage, which now stands at £13.45 an hour across the UK and £14.80 an hour in London, the same does not apply in England.

Health secretary Wes Streeting made a £500m commitment last month to give care workers a pay increase from 2028, but the two Labour mayors have warned that an uplift “cannot wait” in order to help struggling workers now and improve staff retention in the care sector.