Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has contracted work to a business named in round 18 of the National Minimum Wage Naming Scheme within the last three years.

All employers need to pay their staff correctly. Paying the minimum wage is not optional, it’s the law. Under the National Minimum Wage Naming Scheme, employers who have previously broken minimum wage law can be publicly named. The Department for Business and Trade follows a clear and thorough process allowing firms to make representations against being named if they meet our published criteria.

The MOJ entered into contracts, during the last 3 years, with 2 companies listed in round 18 of the National Wage Naming Scheme, though only 1 was made after publication of the list and Calor Gas had already taken steps to rectify the issue. The details are:

- Calor Gas, contract for the supply of LPG across the MOJ estate from June 2022 to May 2024 following a competition via the relevant Crown Commercial Services Framework. https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/notice/134be1dc-a93f-4fc0-8159-c39aae7a3c2f?origin=SearchResults&p=1

- Centre Circle Event Management Ltd, contract for prison education support at HMP Rochester. This was awarded prior to publication (Jan 21) and has now expired (Feb 22). https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/notice/8ba63863-9e53-4f4d-8553-fcc32a38ea58?origin=SearchResults&p=1

Additionally, Hays joined the Crown Commercial Service Public Sector Recruitment (PSR) framework (Call Off Contract from Public Sector Resourcing (PSR) - Contracts Finder) in 2019, before publication of round 18 of the National Minimum Wage Naming Scheme.

For our current suppliers (Calor Gas and Hays) we are working with Crown Commercial Services to ensure that these suppliers are fully compliant and have fully complied with the terms of their framework.