Increased pay for children's social care staff in Scotland

Staff working in children's social care will see their pay rise to at least £12 an hour.

The scheme is backed by £19 million of Scottish Government funding. More than 6,000 people working in a direct care role in the voluntary, private and independent sector services will receive the pay rise, with all payments backdated to April 2024.

Increasing pay for children’s social care workers was a commitment set out in the 2023 Programme for Government.

Minister for children, young people and the promise Natalie Don said: “This uplift is an important step forward in supporting our highly valued social care staff across Scotland. The support they provide is invaluable and the Government is committed to ensuring no-one is paid less than the Real Living Wage.

“Children’s social care services couldn’t be delivered without our private, voluntary and independent sector providers and this funding will help support the sustainability of their services.

“The implementation of this uplift would not have been possible without close working with our partners especially with COSLA and with Health and Social Care Partnerships.”

A spokesperson for COSLA said: "The children's social care workforce are vital in supporting our children and young people. Paying them the real living wage is one way in which we can show how highly they are valued, and we will continue to work with our private, voluntary and independent sector providers on how we best support and Keep the Promise made to Scotland's children and young people."