Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department has received any evidence on the effect of non-payment of the national minimum wage in the social care sector on care standards.

There are a number of factors that determine the quality of care provided in the social care sector including the way staff are treated. Pay is not the most significant factor in delivering high quality services.

The Department is clear however that care providers must abide by the law with regards to payment of the national minimum wage and is taking steps to ensure this happens. The Department is liaising with the Department for Business Innovartion and Skills to name and shame any social care providers who do not comply with the national minimum wage legislation and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs is continuing to carry out enforcement action in the social care sector and will investigate all complaints made by care workers that their employer is not paying them the national minimum wage. In addition, it is looking to ensure that the statutory guidance that will accompany the Care Act on commissioning and market shaping explicitly states local authorities should have evidence that contract terms, conditions and fee levels are appropriate to provide the agreed care packages with agreed quality of care.