New plans which could put an extra £12 million into the pockets of Hertfordshire’s carers have been unveiled by the county council.

For the next two months, Hertfordshire County Council will work with care providers to finalise plans and work out the most efficient way to distribute additional funding.

The financial proposals will be included in the council's 2020/21 budget, and put before councillors for a final decision on Tuesday, February 25.

Councillor Richard Roberts, HCC's executive member of adult care and health, said: "We hope this extra pay will help encourage some people who have left social care to work in other sectors to return - and that people who may not have been been financially able to consider care as a career before will come and join us now.

"It takes a special person to care, and we hear time and time again from our care workforce that they do this job because it's a vocation, supporting people to live as independently as possible."

READ MORE: 'Caring is what I do, but it's not what I am'With this new financial boost, the county council is aiming to build a system which financially rewards those working in social care, offers opportunities for career development and progression and delivers the best possible quality of care.

The county council has said the proposed investment into wages reflects their goal of recognising "the highly skilled role that our 30,000 care workers play in supporting older and disabled people".

The local authority added: "Our close proximity to London and low unemployment has in the past meant that we have struggled to recruit and retain these highly-skilled workers.

"These proposals reflect the council's commitment to social care and the thousands of people making a real difference in our communities each and every day."

Colin Horne, managing director of Care By Us, said: "We have a lot of great people working hard each day to support vulnerable Herts residents in need of care.

"It would be fantastic if we could offer them a pay increase as a step forward to reflecting the value of their work to our communities.

"As a large employer in the county, any potential additional funding would make a significant difference to our ongoing challenge of recruiting and retaining care staff.

"We look forward to hearing the councillors' decision on this."