The UK Government has announced a £500m investment to establish the first ever Fair Pay Agreement for adult care workers in England.

Under the plan, a new negotiating body comprising employers and trade unions will be formed, with the intention of improving pay, terms and conditions across the sector.

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Wes Streeting will reportedly tell the Labour conference today that the Government 'will no longer accept a system built on poverty pay and zero-hour insecurity'.

As part of the initiative, a public consultation is being launched to gather input on how the scheme should operate. Legislation in the forthcoming Employment Rights Bill will underpin the legal basis for collective bargaining in social care.

The agreement is expected to be negotiated in 2027, with implementation from 2028, aligning with wider reforms to support training, career progression, and professional recognition in adult social care.

UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea welcomed the announcement but added that ‘substantially more’ would need to be invested to drive improvement in the social care sector.

Professor Martin Green OBE, chief executive of Care England, was more critical, urging the Government to 'dig deeper'.

'While the creation of a Fair Pay Agreement represents a long-awaited acknowledgement that care work is a skilled profession deserving of fair reward, today’s announcement does little to deliver any meaningful change for our workforce,' he said.

'It is a shame that after so many promises, the outcome amounts to as little as 15 pence per hour if focused solely on pay; something that will make little difference in practice by the people who keep this sector running.'

ADASS President Jess McGregor welcomed the announcement by said the extra costs need to be funded centrally by Government, and not by councils 'who are already under immense financial strain.'