Cofnod Datgeliadau

Cwestiwn

Domiciliary Care Commissioning and Staff Terms

RE: Regarding the Council’s commissioning of domiciliary (home) care services.

Please provide the following information:

1. Council-run home care services:

• Does the Council provide any in-house domiciliary care services?

• If yes, how many Council staff are employed to provide home care?

2. Contractual Wage Obligations:

• Does the Council include a mandatory requirement in its contracts with external domiciliary care providers that all care staff must be paid the Real Living Wage (as defined by the Living Wage Foundation)?

• If yes, does this requirement specify that the Real Living Wage must be paid for all hours worked, specifically including travel time and waiting time between calls?

• Please provide a copy of the specific clause(s) in the standard contract or framework agreement that pertains to payment of the Real Living Wage.

• Please provide a copy of the specific clause(s) in the standard contract or framework agreement that pertains to staff wages and travel/waiting time.

3. Contractual Structure:

• Are the current domiciliary care services commissioned via individual contracts with specific providers, or via a Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) / Approved List framework?

• If a DPS or Approved List is used, how many providers are currently active on this list as of April 2026?

• Please provide a copy of the standard contract or framework agreement.

4. Contract Dates:

• What is the start date and the scheduled end/expiry date of the current Domiciliary Care Framework or Provider contracts?

• Are there any planned "re-opening" dates for the framework in the 2026/27 financial year? If not, when is the next opportunity to make material changes to contracts?

5. Monitoring and Compliance:

• What mechanism does the Council use to audit or verify that external providers are actually paying for travel and waiting time at the agreed rate?

• How many "spot checks" or audits of provider payroll records has the Council conducted in the last 12 months to ensure compliance with National Minimum Wage and Real Living Wage requirements?

6. Support for sponsored care workers

• Does the Council carry any information pertaining to the number of sponsored staff working in the home care sector.

• Are there any support mechanisms available for sponsored care staff who find themselves displaced due to the licence revocation of a service provider?

Ateb

Contractual Wage Obligations:

Does the Council include a mandatory requirement in its contracts with external domiciliary care providers that all care staff must be paid the Real Living Wage (as defined by the Living Wage Foundation)?

The current Framework contract does not have an explicit clause about provider payment of RLW but does refer to fee uplifts in line with RLW increases.

If yes, does this requirement specify that the Real Living Wage must be paid for all hours worked, specifically including travel time and waiting time between calls?

n/a

Please provide a copy of the specific clause(s) in the standard contract or framework agreement that pertains to payment of the Real Living Wage.

24.11 If during the Term there shall be any material variation in the cost of wages to the Supplier of supplying the Services, such as a variation to the National Minimum or Real Living Wage rates, an application may be made by either Party for a net increase to or deduction from the prices as the case may be, provided that no addition to or deduction from the price shall alter the amount of profit of the Supplier included in the price. Any other wage increases shall be capped by the percentage salary increase awarded to the Contracting Authority’s Social Services staff in the previous April.

Note: this wording may be updated in the new Framework

Please provide a copy of the specific clause(s) in the standard contract or framework agreement that pertains to staff wages and travel/waiting time.

n/a

3. Contractual Structure:

Are the current domiciliary care services commissioned via individual contracts with specific providers, or via a Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) / Approved List framework?

Independent Domiciliary Care is commissioned via a Framework

If a DPS or Approved List is used, how many providers are currently active on this list as of April 2026?

There are 6 providers on the current Framework

Please provide a copy of the standard contract or framework agreement.

See attached

4. Contract Dates:

What is the start date and the scheduled end/expiry date of the current Domiciliary Care Framework or Provider contracts?

The main (Joint with RCT CBC) Framework started on 1st October 2016 with a supplementary Merthyr Framework added in 2022. Both end on 30th September 2026.

Are there any planned "re-opening" dates for the framework in the 2026/27 financial year? If not, when is the next opportunity to make material changes to contracts?

The current Frameworks are closed Frameworks. The tender for renewal of the Merthyr Framework is open currently.

5. Monitoring and Compliance:

What mechanism does the Council use to audit or verify that external providers are paying for travel and waiting time at the agreed rate?

We do not undertake such checks

How many "spot checks" or audits of provider payroll records has the Council conducted in the last 12 months to ensure compliance with National Minimum Wage and Real Living Wage requirements?

We do not undertake such checks