Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the rate of pay is for cleaners in his Department.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) contracts out cleaning services relating to the FCO's UK estate to Interserve as part of its facilities management contract. Interserve are responsible for setting rates of pay for their staff. They have informed the FCO that they currently pay £7.04 per hour to staff for cleaning the FCO’s buildings.

The National Living Wage will come into effect on 1 April and all employers, including Interserve, will be required to pay all staff, aged 25 years and above a minimum of £7.20 per hour.