Overview

• Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced funding to support sector‑wide negotiations that aim to raise pay and improve conditions for care workers.
• The plan creates an Adult Social Care Negotiating Body of employers and trade unions, with regulations planned in 2026, talks in 2027 and implementation in 2028.
• The agreement will be underpinned by the Employment Rights Bill, giving legal force to sector‑level bargaining on pay and terms.
• The £500 million is newly allocated from an increase of more than £4 billion for adult social care in 2028–29 set out at the Spending Review.
• Unions welcomed the move as a start and provider groups warned of wider funding and commissioning gaps, while the government signalled work toward a National Care Service overseen by an independent commission led by Baroness Louise Casey.