Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2018 to Question 132626, on Social Services: Minimum Wage, whether EU State Aid Rules allow the full provision of back-pay by the Government for sleep-in shifts.

It is crucially important that we ensure stability within the social care market; not just for vulnerable service users, but also for the many thousands of low paid workers. The Government is exploring options to minimise any impact on the sector.

Discussions with the European Commission on whether any support that might be available could be granted legally within state aid rules are ongoing.