Sheffield Trade Union boss slams Prime Minister for 'making workers pay' for social care plan

Mr Mayer said: “[On Tuesday] the Government announced £36 billion over 3 years for the NHS and Social Care – with most of it going to an overstretched and underfunded NHS in crisis.

"Compare that to the £37bn splashed out to SERCO for a Track and Trace system that never worked.

“Yesterday’s announcement won’t bring back publicly funded social care for all at the time of need. This was scrapped by Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative Government which has left us with today’s crisis where poor families have to sell their home to pay for care for their elderly relatives.

"Even when Boris’ plan is fully up and running most of us will still have to find £86,000 to pay for our elderly parents to get the care they need.”

“Nothing was said about urgently needed reform of the care sector itself which is overstretched, understaffed and unsustainable,” added Martin Mayer.

“The sector depends on a heavily exploited, mainly female, workforce on the lowest pay, with many care workers earning barely above the National Minimum Wage.

“The biggest insult of all is making low paid workers pay for this, whilst letting the wealthy off the hook again. Britain is the fifth wealthiest nation in the world yet has one of the biggest wealth gaps between rich and poor. Low paid workers pay disproportionately higher taxes (direct and indirect) than the wealthy, and yet again the Conservative Government has let the rich off the hook.”