Andy Burnham's plan to give social care workers a pay rise will cost up to £2.2bn, analysis has found. Sir Keir allocated £500m through his Fair Pay Agreement for councils to increase social care pay and set legally binding minimum pay and conditions by 2028. However, Tory research found that the median estimate of the cost of aligning social care pay with NHS pay was £2.7bn, leaving a black hole of £2.2bn. Advertisement AdvertisementAdvertisement AdvertisementOne such estimate, by Skills for Care, of the cost of increasing pay for social care workers to match NHS Band 3 pay within two years was £4.2bn, which included a £2.7bn annual cost to the taxpayer. Department of Health and Social Care sources said the Government was looking at bigger reform for the social care workforce, focusing on progression routes and job security.