Page 23 - Unfair-To-Care-22-23-Flipbook

ON COLLEAGUES
INFLATION ROSE DURING 2021 AND 2022
%, annual change in consumer prices (CPI)
12 10 8 6 4 2 0
2016 2017
2018 2019 2020
Dec '22: 10.7%
2021 2022
Source: ONS, CPI annual inflation rate, series D7G7 [14 December 2022 update]
SECTION 5: THE IMPACT
23
THE COST OF CARING
The UK is in the grip of the most severe cost-of-living crisis since the 1950s, with 87% of adults in the
UK saying their cost-of-living has gone up22.
According to the Office for National Statistics, inflation
rose from just under 0.5% at the start of 2021 to 10.7% by December 202223. The cost of food in the United Kingdom increased by more than 13% between August 2021 and August 2022 – the highest price rises since 198924. At the same time, domestic energy prices have more than doubled and, for most households, will increase further once the Government’s Energy Price Guarantee changes in April.
For those on a Support Worker’s salary, these basic necessities represent a much higher proportion of their take-home pay than the average UK worker
- around half for most. Now the cost-of-living crisis is eating even further into what remains, and with Support Workers less likely to have savings to fall back on, they are being hit disproportionately hard.
Pay benchmarking data from the National Care Forum states that the average not-for-profit pay rate in England
for Support Workers, outside of London, is £10.01 (October 2022)25. The Living Wage Foundation, as of September 2022, stated that the Real Living Wage outside of London
is £10.9026. Every hour that the average social care Support Worker works is 89p below the rate independently assessed as the minimum figure to enjoy a reasonable quality of life.
22. The rising cost of living and its impact on individuals in Great Britain: November 2021 to March 2022
23. Source: ONS, CPI annual inflation rate [14 December 2022 update]
24. ONS, Consumer price inflation, UK: August 2022
25. NCF: The Social Care Reward: Pay, Terms and Conditions 2022-23
26. Living Wage Foundation | For The Real Cost Of Living