Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State with Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Local Government Association on tackling the non-payment of travel time of homecare workers in advance of a fair pay agreement for adult social care workers.

The Department of Health and Social Care has regular discussions with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on a range of issues regarding local government services, including adult social care.

All social care workers must be paid at least the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage for the work that they do. Time spent travelling between appointments counts as working time for minimum wage purposes.

Currently, National Minimum Wage enforcement continues to be delivered by HM Revenue & Customs under a contracting arrangement with the Fair Work Agency. This ensures continuity of service while the Fair Work Agency prepares for the full transfer of National Minimum Wage functions in April 2027.

If an individual believes their rights as a worker are not being upheld, they can seek confidential guidance and support from ACAS. ACAS can be contacted on 0300 123 1100, or they can visit the ACAS website for further information, which is available at the following link:

https://www.acas.org.uk/

They can also submit a query online directly to HM Revenue & Customs via GOV.UK; it considers every complaint it receives.