Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what guidance they provide to local authorities regarding the payment for travel time to carers travelling between clients; and whether local authorities are required to check if any external contractors they use to provide caring services are paying those costs.

The Government provides online guidance on the steps employers and others must take to comply with the National Minimum Wage, which states that the hours of work that count for minimum wage purposes include any time when a worker is travelling from one work assignment to another.

The Government is clear that local authorities should have regard to the cost of care when setting prices. This is set out in the statutory guidance to the Care Act 2014.

In 2016 the Department worked with local government, the care sector and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy to produce a guide to understanding providers’ costs and fair fees – this was published in January 2017. A copy of Working with care providers to understand costs: A guide for adult social care commissioners is attached.