Agenda item

The Board had before it a report by Alison Macleod (Social Care Procurement Manager, ACC) which advised the Board on the outcome of the additional 6.4% uplift to care providers in relation to payment of the Scottish Living Wage during 2016-17; and the report sought approval for a further uplift of 2.6% during 2017-18 and for additional, individually targeted funding to be allocated to contracted organisations providing a sleepover service to enable them to meet HMRC guidelines.

The report recommended:-

That the Board –

(a)       Note the outcome of the additional 6.4% funding provided in 2016/17 to contracted providers of social care services in relation to payment of the Scottish Living Wage of £8.25 per hour;

(b)       Approves the provision of a further uplift of 2.6% funding in 2017/18 to contracted providers of social care services to allow for the increase of the Scottish Living Wage from £8.25 to £8.45 per hour from 1st April 2017.   The uplift to be paid dependant on receipt of a signed contract variation and completion of the verification questionnaire;

(c)       Approves the provision of additional, individually targeted, funding to those contracted organisations providing a sleepover service to enable them to meet HMRC guidelines of the average hourly rate for a sleepover shift being equivalent to at least the National Minimum Wage of £7.50 per hour from 1st April 2017; and

(d)       Issues a Direction to Aberdeen City Council to prepare and issue contract variationsto all appropriate contracted providers in relation to the 2.6% uplift to ensure payment of the Living Wage and to prepare and issue contract variations to providers of a sleepover service to award additional funding in relation to the payment of these at an average hourly rate equivalent to the National Minimum Wage.

Alex Stephen (Chief Finance Officer, ACHSCP) spoke to the report and explained that the report provided an update on the number of contracted care home providers that had confirmed payment of the Scottish Living Wage since the IJB approved the 6.4% uplift at its meeting on 30 August 2016. He informed the Board that of the 78 contract variations, 55 providers had responded to the review and all 55 of these providers confirmed payment of the Scottish Living Wage. In reference to sleepovers, Mr Stephen explained that in order to be compliant with a recent Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) ruling, an additional £650,000 would have to be found to meet the uplift in the rate of pay from £7.20 to £7.50 per hour on an individual basis.

Thereafter there were questions on the rate of pay for sleepover staff, which from 1 April 2017 would be 95p per hour less than the Scottish Living Wage. Members also examined the merits of the working nights and sleepover systems, and discussed which system was the most effective way to deliver care through the night.

The Board resolved:-

(i)            to note the outcome of the additional 6.4% funding provided in 2016/17 to contracted providers of social care services in relation to payment of the Scottish Living Wage of £8.25 per hour;

(ii)          to approve the provision of a further uplift of 2.8% funding in 2017/18 to contracted providers of social care services to allow for the increase of the Scottish Living Wage from £8.25 to £8.45 per hour from 1st April 2017.   The uplift to be paid dependant on receipt of a signed contract variation and completion of the verification questionnaire;

(iii)         to approve the provision of additional, individually targeted, funding to those contracted organisations providing a sleepover service to enable them to meet HMRC guidelines of the average hourly rate for a sleepover shift being equivalent to at least the National Minimum Wage of £7.50 per hour from 1st April 2017; and

(iv)         to issue a Direction to Aberdeen City Council to prepare and issue contract variations to all appropriate contracted providers in relation to the 2.8% uplift to ensure payment of the Living Wage and to prepare and issue contract variations to providers of a sleepover service to award additional funding in relation to the payment of these at an average hourly rate equivalent to the National Minimum Wage.