Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-02-19.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 15 February 2016 to Question 26319 on the national minimum wage, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the increase in the arrears identified between April 2015 and November 2015; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Gauke

The Government takes the enforcement of National Minimum Wage very seriously. Any worker who believes that they are being paid below the minimum wage should make a complaint to the Acas helpline on 0300 123 1100. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) respond to every complaint that is referred to them by the Acas helpline. Additionally, HMRC collate and analyse data from various sources in order to identify those employers who are potentially more likely to be underpaying National Minimum Wage, so that they can undertake targeted enforcement against those employers.

The Government has increased annual funding of National Minimum Wage enforcement by nearly 60% since 2013/14, providing a budget of £13.2m in 2015/16. This has enabled a significant expansion of resources dedicated to enforcing the minimum wage; there are currently 237 staff in HMRC’s National Minimum Wage teams, up from 151 at the start of 2013/14. HMRC have also reviewed their ways of working to ensure a more efficient and effective service for workers.