John Baron MP presses Chancellor on social care workers’ pay

MP welcomes National Living Wage increases

Today in the House of Commons, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP, gave a Statement on the Government’s Spending Review. John Baron MP questioned the Chancellor on the issue of social care workers’ pay and taxes on enterprise.

In the Chamber, John asked,

“I commend the Chancellor for many of these measures, including the support for the lowest paid. When it comes to funding them, I encourage him not to stifle enterprise through increased taxes, as such taxes are usually counter-productive.”

“May I raise the issue of social care workers? They provide an essential service, but are often overlooked in part because they span both the private and public sectors. What more can he do for them – for example, further to my letter to him, will he consider raising their personal tax threshold, so they can take home more of their pay?”

The Chancellor responded that John was right to raise the importance of social care workers. Many of them are on the National Living Wage, so they will benefit from the 2.2% increase announced in the Spending Review. The Chancellor also added that the Government is considering raising the national insurance threshold.

John said afterwards,

“I welcome the Chancellor’s positive comments about social care workers, whose enormous contribution is all too often overlooked. It is good news that many will benefit from the increase in the National Living Wage, but the fact that so many receive this underlines why further steps should be taken to increase their pay.”