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Written question asked by Lord Wills (Labour) on Monday, 8 September 2025, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Monday, 22 September 2025. It was answered by Baroness Merron (Labour) on Tuesday, 16 September 2025 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.

Care Workers: Self-employed

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government how many self-employed care workers operate in England, and what assessment they have made of how many of those workers meet the criteria for self-employment.

Answer

There is no available estimate of the number of care workers who are self-employed. The only available data on self-employment within the adult social care sector is for personal assistants who are employed by direct payment recipients.

Skills for Care estimates that in 2024/25, there were 100,000 personal assistants (PAs) working for direct payment recipients, and of these, 10% were self-employed. There is no equivalent data available on self-employed PAs who are working for individuals funding their own care.

The Department has not made an assessment of how many of these workers meet the criteria for self-employment.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL10339
Session
2024-26
Subjects
Self-employed Care workers
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk