UK Parliament / Open data

Care Bill [Lords]

Proceeding contribution from Liz Kendall (Labour) in the House of Commons on Monday, 10 March 2014. It occurred during Debate on bills on Care Bill [Lords].

I am really sorry, but I want to make a bit more progress. I have a lot of new clauses to get through, and Back Benchers have also tabled new clauses and amendments.

We also know that many care workers do not even get the minimum wage at the end of the week, because they are not paid for their travel time, among other things. Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs recently undertook an evaluation of minimum wage enforcement in the social care sector. It found that a staggering half of all care providers had failed to pay the minimum wage to at least one of their employees, yet despite Ministers’ insistence that such people will be named and shamed, not a single provider in the care sector has so far been identified.

We need to look at all those employment issues, which I think have a fundamental impact on the quality of care. If the Bill is to promote well-being, shift services towards prevention and improve standards, we must get to grips with those issues; otherwise, it will not work. New clause 17 would require the Secretary of State to conduct an overall review of the economic and financial factors affecting employment, publish the results and consult on the findings.

Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
577 cc63-4 
Session
2013-14
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
Subjects
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