Sir Ed Davey says a higher minimum wage for the sector would help prevent an “exodus” to better paid jobs.
The Liberal Democrats are calling for a higher minimum wage for social care workers to help tackle staff shortages.
Under the party’s proposals, staff would be paid at least £2 an hour more than the minimum wage – currently £9.50 an hour for over-23s.
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said the move would “prevent the exodus of workers” to better paid jobs.
The party said the government would need to give councils an extra £1bn a year to cover higher staffing costs.
It added that ministers should also take into account minimum wage rises when setting social care budgets.
The Lib Dems said the policy would be funded by increasing the tax on online gambling providers’ profits to 42%. The tax – know an Remote Gaming Duty – is currently 21%.
The UK national minimum wage sets out the lowest amount a worker can be paid per hour by law.
The rates are decided by the government, based on the recommendations of an independent advisory group, and change every year.
More than half of frontline care staff – 850,000 workers – would see their pay improve if there was a £2 an hour uplift to the minimum wage for the sector, according to the Resolution Foundation think tank.
There are more than 165,000 vacancies in adult social care in England, up 52% in a year, the latest official figures show.
The Lib Dems said “chronic staff shortages” were leading to patients being left in hospital waiting for social care, contributing to record waiting times for A&E.
Sir Ed said: “Thousands of people are stranded in hospital beds because there simply aren’t enough care workers to look after them at home or in a care home.
“The first step to fixing this mess is to pay those working in social care more, to prevent the exodus of workers to supermarkets and other better paid jobs.”
The Lib Dem leader, whose teenage son has a neurological condition that means he needs 24/7 care, said he had “seen first-hand the incredible job that care workers do day in and day out”.
“This is a skilled and crucial job and it should be paid more,” he added.
The government says it is providing £2.8bn of extra funding for social care over the next year to help tackle issues like delays discharging people from hospital.
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