Asked by: Baroness McDonagh (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to publish the minutes of the September meeting of the Independent Review of the Financial Reporting Council; and if so, when.
Answered by Lord Henley
In accordance with the Review’s terms of reference, a summary of the discussion held at the September 2018 meeting of the Review’s Advisory Group will be made available in due course.
Asked by: Baroness McDonagh (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the letter by the Secretary of State for the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to Sir John Kingman, chairman of the Review of the audit regulator, on 8 October asking for the scope of the Independent Review of the Financial Reporting Council to be extended, whether additional resources have been provided or requested to assist in the completion of that investigation.
Answered by Lord Henley
Sir John Kingman asked not to receive a fee for his role undertaking the independent Review of the Financial Reporting Council. Members of the Review’s Advisory Group are also not remunerated for their involvement.
The additional request to Sir John Kingman to provide his thoughts alongside the Review on whether there is any case for change in the way in which audits are procured and audit fees are set will be accommodated in existing costs and allocated resources.
Asked by: Baroness McDonagh (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the letter by the Secretary of State for the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to Sir John Kingman, chairman of the Review of the audit regulator, on 8 October, what are the financial and non-financial costs associated with the request to extend the scope of the Independent Review of the Financial Reporting Council.
Answered by Lord Henley
Sir John Kingman asked not to receive a fee for his role undertaking the independent Review of the Financial Reporting Council. Members of the Review’s Advisory Group are also not remunerated for their involvement.
The additional request to Sir John Kingman to provide his thoughts alongside the Review on whether there is any case for change in the way in which audits are procured and audit fees are set will be accommodated in existing costs and allocated resources.
Asked by: Baroness McDonagh (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment has been made of the impact on charities and other voluntary organisations providing social care of new advice on the statutory provision of sleeping-in payments.
Answered by Lord Henley
All businesses – irrespective of their size or business sector – are responsible for paying the correct minimum wage to their staff.
It is not uncommon for employment law to be clarified in the courts and tribunals. Employment Tribunal judgments have, over time, clarified the position on what constitutes “work” in connection with sleeping time and therefore when the NMW is payable for sleep-in shifts. Government guidance issued in February 2015 included clarification from those judgments. Ministers from BEIS and the Department of Health most recently wrote to Local Authorities on 27 October 2017 regarding payment of NMW or NLW for sleep-in shifts to ensure clarity on those rules.
The Government recognises that the cumulative financial liability of penalties and arrears of wages associated with “sleep in” shifts could pose challenges to some providers in the social care sector. It is exploring options to minimise any impact on the sector and has opened discussions with the European Commission. It also introduced the interim Social Care Compliance Scheme (SCCS) on 1 November, which gives providers in the sector 12 months in which to conduct a self-review of any arrears and then up to three months in which to re-pay workers.
Asked by: Baroness McDonagh (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what advice they (1) received from HMRC, and (2) gave to local authorities, on sleeping-in payments over the last ten years.
Answered by Lord Henley
All businesses – irrespective of their size or business sector – are responsible for paying the correct minimum wage to their staff.
It is not uncommon for employment law to be clarified in the courts and tribunals. Employment Tribunal judgments have, over time, clarified the position on what constitutes “work” in connection with sleeping time and therefore when the NMW is payable for sleep-in shifts. Government guidance issued in February 2015 included clarification from those judgments. Ministers from BEIS and the Department of Health most recently wrote to Local Authorities on 27 October 2017 regarding payment of NMW or NLW for sleep-in shifts to ensure clarity on those rules.
The Government recognises that the cumulative financial liability of penalties and arrears of wages associated with “sleep in” shifts could pose challenges to some providers in the social care sector. It is exploring options to minimise any impact on the sector and has opened discussions with the European Commission. It also introduced the interim Social Care Compliance Scheme (SCCS) on 1 November, which gives providers in the sector 12 months in which to conduct a self-review of any arrears and then up to three months in which to re-pay workers.
Asked by: Baroness McDonagh (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when Ministers were notified that social care workers had been paid below the minimum wage for statutory sleeping-in care; when that information was passed on to Government agencies, including the NHS and local authorities; why social care providers were not notified earlier; and what steps they are taking to ensure such underpayments could not happen again.
Answered by Lord Henley
All businesses – irrespective of their size or business sector – are responsible for paying the correct minimum wage to their staff.
It is not uncommon for employment law to be clarified in the courts and tribunals. Employment Tribunal judgments have, over time, clarified the position on what constitutes “work” in connection with sleeping time and therefore when the NMW is payable for sleep-in shifts. Government guidance issued in February 2015 included clarification from those judgments. Ministers from BEIS and the Department of Health most recently wrote to Local Authorities on 27 October 2017 regarding payment of NMW or NLW for sleep-in shifts to ensure clarity on those rules.
The Government recognises that the cumulative financial liability of penalties and arrears of wages associated with “sleep in” shifts could pose challenges to some providers in the social care sector. It is exploring options to minimise any impact on the sector and has opened discussions with the European Commission. It also introduced the interim Social Care Compliance Scheme (SCCS) on 1 November, which gives providers in the sector 12 months in which to conduct a self-review of any arrears and then up to three months in which to re-pay workers.