Department of Health and Social Care: Cleaning Services

(asked on 22nd January 2019) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which service providers are contracted to carry out third party cleaning contracts for his (a) Department and (b) executive agencies; if he will list all of the services delivered by third party contractors to his (i) Department and (ii) executive agencies; and how many people working for those third party contractors are paid less than the Living Wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation.


Answered by
Caroline Dinenage Portrait
Caroline Dinenage
This question was answered on 30th January 2019

The Department contracts with EMCOR UK for cleaning services. Third party cleaning contracts are in place between EMCOR UK and Active clean, KEF and Churchills in delivering cleaning services within the Department’s buildings. The Department does not have the rates of pay of the third-party service providers.

All service providers comply with the law in respect of the National Minimum Wage, but, in line with Cabinet Office advice, the Department and its executive agencies do not require their contracted companies to pay their employees the Living Wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation.

Public Health England contracts directly for cleaning services across five sites with three suppliers – EMCOR UK, Minster and Corporate Service Management. There are currently 28 individuals that they believe are paid below the Living Wage Foundation rate.

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency contracts directly for cleaning services across two sites with four suppliers- Interserve, Churchill, Pharmacleanse and Micronclean (Specialist Cleaning Services). Micronclean have 209 employees on a gross hourly rate of less than £9 which is less than the Real Living Wage.

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