THE Archbishop of York has urged organisations to pay their care workers a Living Wage.

Dr John Sentamu addressed a packed social care conference at York Racecourse yesterday to speak about the need for a living wage of at least £7.65 an hour to be paid to care workers.

Dr Sentamu also spoke of how the question of funding social care requires urgent attention because year-by-year there are more people needing social care, and a rising need for well-trained and motivated carers.

The event, which was organised by the Independent Care Group, also heard from Andrea Sutcliffe, CQC chief inspector of adult social care, who spoke of inspection changes coming in this autumn.

Dr Sentamu said: “There are benefits to everyone – short term as well as long-term – from introducing the Living Wage; benefits to the morale of the workers; benefits to the delivery of care for those who need it; benefits in motivated and committed workers for the employers. Paying a fair day's pay for a hard day's work helps to drive standards higher among those looking after our older relatives, affording them some dignity and independence in their own homes.

"And there are cost benefits too. For in the case of home care, as with many other public sector services, procuring on value rather than spreadsheet cost can lead to better services, better paid staff, and long term cost-savings in the public sector as a whole. Since this work is in the public sector, the government could do more."

The conference - which was called An Inspector Calls- also heard speeches from Kersten England, the chief executive of City of York Council, and Richard Webb, the North Yorkshire County Council Director of Health and Adult Services.

• Meanwhile, the Archbishop has blessed a "pop up cathedral" as it stopped at the Archbishop of York Junior School.

The mobile trailer is journeying through North and West Yorkshire and the Dales and will be collecting donations for food banks.