Coleman Jonathan: Home and Community Support (Payment for Travel Between Clients) Settlement Bill — Second ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeColeman Jonathan: Home and Community Support (Payment for Travel Between Clients) Settlement Bill — Second Reading[Sitting date: 11 February 2016. Volume:711;Page:8945. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN (Minister of Health): I move That the Home and Community Support (Payment for Travel Between Clients) Settlement Bill be now read a second time. I would like to begin by thanking members of the Health Committee for their thorough consideration of the bill for their suggestions for its improvement and for the quick turn-round to support a timely progression of the legislation to enable commencement by 1 March 2016 as agreed by the settlement parties. The committee has recommended that the bill proceed with amendments.This bill will benefit around 24000 care and support workers who assist older people disabled people and those recovering from illness and injury with personal care and household management. Funders and providers also benefit from the additional funding appropriated to ensure that providers can pay the agreed amounts. In summary this bill is a very positive investment by the Government in some of the lowest-paid care and support workers in the health sector. They will benefit from a total Government investment of around $38 million a year—approximately $150 million over 4 years.Members may recall that the bill results from a negotiated settlement between the Crown district health boards unions and employer representatives to resolve how workers should be compensated for the time and costs of travelling between clients. The settlement agreement intended that legislation be passed to ensure that support workers were paid for travel time and costs with minimum rates and agreed formula that employers’ liability is capped so that payments are affordable and sustainable that employees would not be any worse off under the new arrangements and that employees covered by the bill could not pursue further legal claims.Seven submissions were received on the bill as introduced and all supported the bill. Key submissions from employer and union representatives raised the same sets of issues and sought amendments to clarify which employees are intended to be covered to spell out the formulas used to determine pay rates to ensure that no worker would be worse off financially under the new arrangements and to include a formal review mechanism to ensure the legislation is working as intended. These concerns and suggestions have been addressed in the amendments now set out in the bill before the House.I note that the committee has made some positive changes both substantive and technical which I will discuss briefly. The main amendments enhance clarity and ensure consistency with the settlement agreement. This includes the following changes. A new purpose statement makes a clear link to the settlement agreement—that is to ensure support workers are paid according to the agreed formulas. The quid pro quo of closing off further litigation is made clear. This reflects a key intent of the settlement agreement that the legislation removes the ability for further legal challenges. Some necessary consequential amendments were also made to the Minimum Wage Act exempting workers covered by this bill from some particular parts.ACC-funded services will be covered by the bill. Although ACC was not a formal party to the negotiations the settlement agreement made it clear that similar arrangements should apply where ACC funds injury-related personal care and household management services. The Minister for ACC will consequently be formally involved in any future review of or changes to the legislation.Care has been taken to simplify the definitions of home and community support workers and employers as far as is possible. For the sake of clarity salaried workers are specifically excluded from coverage. Similarly a revised definition of services ensures that only those workers who must travel between clients to provide household maintenance or personal care services are covered. An annual review mechanism is included to ensure that the bill will work in the way it is intended and that workers will not be financially disadvantaged by the changes. It requires the Ministers of Health and ACC to consult and consider whether changes are needed within quite precise parameters therefore avoiding a burdensome legislature review process.Initially it was intended that regulations would set out the formulas for calculating the payments. Instead the bill incorporates these parts into a new separate schedule. This innovation provides a clear and easy way for an employee or employer to determine whether they are covered and how payments are calculated. All the information needed is now contained in one place. There are also provisions to amend the schedule. However these are tightly prescribed to constrain the use of Orders in Council as recommended by the Regulations Review Committee.Some amendments are technical in that they improve the flow and internal consistency of the bill. For example Parliamentary Counsel Office best practice is to insert standard clauses for transitional savings and related provisions and these have been included. Other minor amendments have reordered or renamed some parts or removed clauses that all parties agreed did not reflect the settlement agreement did not confer any benefits or were not practicable—for example the previous clauses referring to employer zones.I am pleased to support the committee’s changes to the bill which I believe are sensible and well considered and allow care and support workers and their employers to be clear about who is eligible for payments and how those payments should be calculated. I would like to thank the committee members once more for their work. I again acknowledge the settlement parties and Government agencies for their goodwill and cooperation to ensure that the bill reflects the intent of the negotiated settlement agreement.This bill represents an important milestone in recognising the valuable work of people who provide care and support for many New Zealanders. These workers will benefit from a total Government investment of around $38 million a year. I commend this bill to the House.