Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of social care employers found to be non-compliant with the national minimum wage have had arrears identified by self-correction since January 2016.
Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The government is determined that everyone who is entitled to the National Minimum and Living Wage (NMW) receives it. Anyone who feels they have been underpaid NMW should contact the Acas helpline on 0300 123 1100. HMRC review all complaints that are referred to them.
Between January 2016 and 31 March 2017, HMRC closed 102 social care employer investigations where NMW arrears were identified. 42 employers out of this total (41%) were instructed to self-correct a limited amount of the identified arrears. HMRC does not provide in year data as this has not been verified, so data post 31 March 2017 cannot be provided at this time.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations his Department has received from other EU member states on the financial cost of the UK leaving the EU without a withdrawal agreement.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
Treasury ministers and officials engage regularly with their counterparts in other EU Member States to discuss a wide range of issues, including the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.
The Government continues to undertake the necessary work to prepare for every eventuality.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of arrears identified by national minimum wage investigations in (a) 2015-16 and (b) 2016-17 have been subsequently repaid to workers to whom they are owed.
Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
I refer the honourable member back to the answer provided by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Margot James, on 31 October 2016; and to the answer provided by the former Chief Secretary to the Treasury, David Gauke, on 22 September 2015.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many care providers have been prosecuted by HM Revenue and Customs for failing to maintain sufficient minimum wage records.
Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The Government is determined that everyone who is entitled to the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW) receives it. Anyone who feels they have been underpaid NMW or NLW should contact the Acas helpline on 0300 123 1100. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) reviews all complaints that are referred to them.
HMRC do not routinely request information from local authorities. HMRC do however act on information from a range of sources including workers, third parties (which can include local authorities) and unions. HMRC also has a range of tools to obtain the necessary information from employers to assess NMW non-compliance.
I refer the honourable member to the answer provided at UIN HL4264 for details of NMW prosecutions. There have been no prosecutions against any care providers to date.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information HM Revenue and Customs requests from local authorities to support minimum wage compliance checks on domiciliary care companies commissioned by those local authorities.
Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The Government is determined that everyone who is entitled to the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW) receives it. Anyone who feels they have been underpaid NMW or NLW should contact the Acas helpline on 0300 123 1100. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) reviews all complaints that are referred to them.
HMRC do not routinely request information from local authorities. HMRC do however act on information from a range of sources including workers, third parties (which can include local authorities) and unions. HMRC also has a range of tools to obtain the necessary information from employers to assess NMW non-compliance.
I refer the honourable member to the answer provided at UIN HL4264 for details of NMW prosecutions. There have been no prosecutions against any care providers to date.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 27 February 2017 to Question 64553, what discussions he had with the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union on the drafting of the White Paper entitled The United Kingdom's exit from and new partnership with the European Union, Cm 9417, published in February 2017.
Answered by David Gauke
HM Treasury, and other Departments, are working closely with the Department for Exiting the European Union on all aspects of exiting the European Union
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Department for Exiting the European Union on the contents of the White Paper entitled The United Kingdom's exit from and new partnership with the European Union, Cm 9417, published in February 2017.
Answered by Simon Kirby
The Treasury, with other departments, is working closely with the Department for Exiting the European Union on all aspects of the UK’s exit from the EU. We continue to make progress in preparing for the withdrawal process and getting the best deal for the UK.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 30 November 2016 to Question 54284, what the level of non-compliance was that was found as a result of the investigations into the six social care companies; and if he will publish the HM Revenue and Customs' report on that investigation.
Answered by Jane Ellison
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not comment on individual cases and has no plans to publish a report into its investigations into the six social care companies.
In 2015/16, HMRC launched a campaign of targeted enforcement into the social care sector, in which a number of providers – both large and small – were investigated for National Minimum Wage compliance. During that year HMRC identified over £650,000 in arrears for nearly 3400 workers in the sector.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Answer of 1 March 2016 to Question 25631, and pursuant to the Answer of 1 July 2016 to Question 40988, whether HM Revenue and Customs has completed its investigations into the six social care companies; and what recent assessment he has made of the extent of national minimum wage compliance in the social care sector.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The Government is determined that everyone who is entitled to the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW) receives it. Anyone who feels they have been underpaid NMW or NLW should contact the Acas helpline on 0300 123 1100. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) reviews all complaints that are referred to them.
HMRC has completed all the investigations into the six social care companies. HMRC continues to be aware of the risks of underpayment of NMW and NLW in the social care sector and is prioritising complaints from workers; working with other agencies and departments to raise awareness of the rules; and undertaking targeted enforcement to ensure that workers are paid what they are legally owed.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 31 October 2016 to Question 50160, if he will provide HM Revenue and Customs data on how much of the £981,514 found to be owed in arrears to social care workers between 1 April 2014 and 31 March 2016 was subsequently paid to the workers affected.
Answered by Jane Ellison
I refer the honourable Member to the answers given by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on 31 October 2016 (Written Question 50160), and by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 22 September 2015 (Written Question 10153).
The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone who is entitled to the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW) receives it. Anyone who feels they have been underpaid NMW or NLW should contact the Acas helpline on 0300 123 1100. HM Revenue and Customs reviews all complaints that are referred to them.