Baroness Scott of Needham Market – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Scott of Needham Market on 2015-10-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the number of public sector employees currently earning less than the National Living Wage.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

At Summer Budget 2015, the Chancellor announced a new National Living Wage which is a compulsory increase in pay for all workers over 25. It will come into effect in April 2016 at £7.20, 50p above the current National Minimum Wage. The Government will ask the Low Pay Commission to recommend the level of the National Living Wage in each subsequent year, asking them to increase the NLW to 60% of median earnings by 2020. It is estimated that by 2020 approximately 200,000 public sector workers will benefit directly as a result of the National Living Wage.