The Resolution Foundation think-tank has found that 20 per cent of the home care workforce – the majority are women – are being paid less than the £6.55 minimum wage per hour, as journey time and travel expenses are routinely not paid to hard working community carers, who often put in 10 hours a day.

We know that many home care workers are paid a pittance – £5 per hour – after their travel time costs are factored into their wages and are still expected to provide quality visits to the elderly, infirm and disabled in the community, who are all vulnerable and dependent on their timely visits.

Often, early home visits are at 7am and high standards of attention, including washing and administration of medicines, are performed by the exploited numbers of home care workers.

All local councils are currently out-sourcing their home care contractual liabilities to private firms who in turn are often squeezing the pips when it comes to ensuring that their home care workforce is paid a fair wage that provides workers with employment and human dignity for long and anti-social working hours in the local community.

Although the low pay to home care workers has been branded a `national scandal’, local councils are still refraining to take action in the voting chambers and instead claiming that depriving key community employees of full employment rights has to be done, in the interests of cost cutting pressures on the social adult health care budget.

Is it the case that the out-sourced private home care firms are now raking in extortionate profit, like the five per cent permitted by the multi-billion asset public energy giants?

The Resolution Foundation has said some care firms are breaking the law and often they’re getting away with it.

It is not a crime to be old or infirm and all people in our local community should command human dignity in older age.

The elderly are entitled to the highest standards of home care visits, but surely their care plans can only be maintained if care workers are also fully recognised through their improved hourly remuneration.

Home care workers’ pay must include full time and travel costs in their individual hourly rates. That will finally give full employment rights and dignity, in line with their counterparts across the social services industry.

Patrick C Smith, Higham Hill Liberal Democrat Focus Team