PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Social Services: Pay (27 June 2014)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Care Act 2014 and the care and support statutory guidance, what guidance his Department gives to local authorities on the action they should take if they receive evidence that self-funders and those with personalised care budgets are not paying social care firms enough to pay their staff at least the minimum wage, including remuneration for travel time between appointments.

Asked by:
Mr Clive Betts (Labour)

Self-funders and people with personal budgets whose care is arranged by their local authority have no obligations under the provisions of the Care Act 2014, draft statutory Care Act guidance or draft regulations on the Care Act, to show that they pay social care providers enough to pay their staff at least the minimum wage, including remuneration for travel time between appointments. Social care providers must fulfil their legal obligations as employers which include ensuring that staff salaries conform to the national minimum wage.

If a person chooses to request their personal budget as a direct payment to purchase their own care and support, the draft Care Act guidance details what the local authority should do as part of its general monitoring of the direct payment to ensure that the person fulfils their legal obligations as an employer. This includes ensuring that the person is registered as an employer with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs and is making the appropriate contributions for PAYE and income tax, and that payments conform to the national minimum wage. Where it is apparent that these obligations are not being met, the local authority should review the care plan and making of the direct payment to ascertain if alternate arrangements need to be made that result in the person no longer being an employer (para 12.46-12.49, p172-73).

The draft guidance and regulations on the Care Act are currently open for public consultation. The Department is also undertaking a series of engagement events with social care stakeholders to gather feedback on the content of the guidance and regulations.

Answered by:
Norman Lamb (Liberal Democrat)
10 July 2014