DRAFT National Minimum Wage (Amendment) REGULATIONS 2017

Julian Sturdy Excerpts

Tuesday 14th March 2017 General Committees

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Margot James)]

I beg to move,

That the Committee has considered the draft National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Regulations 2017.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Alan.

The purpose of the regulations is to increase the hourly rate of national minimum wage for all workers, including those who are entitled to the national living wage. The regulations also include an increase in the accommodation offset rate.

Our economy is fundamentally strong and it continues to grow. GDP growth was 0.6% in the last quarter of 2016, above market expectations, and the economy is now 8.7% larger than its pre-crisis peak. It is right that our economic success is shared by everyone. Through the national minimum wage and the national living wage, the Government continue to ensure that the lowest paid in our society are more fairly rewarded for their contribution to the economy. The latest employment figures are a testament to the success of this policy: our employment rate is at a record high of 74.6% and our unemployment rate remains low at 4.8%.

When the House met to debate the national minimum wage rises in September 2016, I informed hon. Members that from this April the national minimum wage and the national living wage will be uprated simultaneously. We have delivered on that commitment and the new rates will be effective from 1 April this year, to coincide with the start of the tax year. We hope that by aligning the cycles we can make it easier for employers to comply, while reducing their administrative burden.

The Government continue to be supported by the expert and independent advice of the Low Pay Commission, whose members I thank for their hard work and guidance. The LPC is asked to recommend the highest possible increase in the national minimum wage rates without damaging the employment prospects of low-paid workers, and to recommend the rate of the national living wage such that it reaches 60% of median earnings by 2020, subject to sustained economic growth. The LPC has carried out extensive research, consultation and analysis to inform its wage rate recommendations. We have considered and accepted all the recommendations as set out in the LPC’s autumn 2016 report.

I will take this opportunity to clearly set out the rates that will be effective from 1 April. The national living wage rate will increase by 30p to £7.50 per hour. It is projected that up to 2 million people will benefit from this increase, whereby a full-time worker in receipt of the national living wage will receive an annual increase of more than £500. All the national minimum wage rates will also be uprated above the rate of inflation. Those aged between 21 and 24 will be entitled to a minimum of £7.05 per hour, an annual increase of 3.2%. Those aged between 18 and 20 will be entitled to a minimum of £5.60 per hour, an annual increase of 3.1%. Those aged 16 and 17 will be entitled to a minimum of £4.05 per hour, an annual increase of 2.8%. Apprentices aged 19, or those aged 19 and over in the first year of their apprenticeship, will be entitled to £3.50 per hour, which is the largest annual increase of all the rates at 4.5%. Finally, the accommodation offset rate will be increased from £6 to £6.40 per day.

We recognise that as rates rise, the risk of non-compliance also rises. The Government will ensure that every worker in the UK who is entitled to the national minimum wage or national living wage receives it. We are actively taking steps to tackle non-compliance and sending a clear message to employers that minimum wage abuses will not go unpunished. That is why the Government continue to invest heavily in minimum wage enforcement, increasing the budget to £25.3 million for 2017-18, up from £13 million in 2015-16. In addition, the Government have invested £1.7 million in an awareness campaign to highlight the rights and responsibilities among workers and employers. The campaign was launched in January and will pick up pace as we approach 1 April.

[Julian Sturdy (York Outer) (Con)]

I welcome the proposals on the table, but will the Minister outline what representations she has had from small business, given that the increases come at the same time as auto-enrolment and other cost pressures?

[Margot James]

My hon. Friend makes a good point. I have had representations from small businesses, particularly in the retail sector, saying that they are finding it challenging to cope with the various cost increases, but they tell me that they agree that introducing the national living wage is the right thing to do. Despite the difficulties, I have not had any representations urging us to row back on the increases in the regulations.

This Government are committed to an economy that works for everyone. The ongoing success of the UK labour market proves that a rising minimum wage can go hand in hand with rising employment. I commend the regulations to the Committee.

Exiting the EU: Higher Education

Julian Sturdy Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd November 2016 Westminster Hall

[Dr Huq]

As always, my right hon. Friend makes an excellent point. He has anticipated my speech very well, because EU students and their migration totals are on my list of asks, which I am coming to.

The Prime Minister’s much quoted Downing Street speech advocated

“an economy that works for everyone”.

Universities are often the biggest employers in their cities. There are lots of figures on this; in 2014-15, 125,000 EU students generated some £4 billion for the UK economy, and there is off-campus spending as well. We must not ignore all that. We need to bust the myth that universities are merely insular communities up an ivory tower with their heads in a book and provide no wider public benefit. In addition, there is the £836 million of research funds—15% of the total. Universities provide good economic value.

Universities are also changing. My constituency is home to the University of West London, but also to a distance learning and blended learning institution, Arden University. People felt that there were already pressures on the sector, but Brexit is exacerbating everything.

As well as statistics, we should also consider a wider set of philosophies. In my alumni magazine, the vice-chancellor of Cambridge wrote that

“the University has a duty of leadership that it will not forsake…Our commitment to Europe…is…to a shared cultural and intellectual heritage”.

In the ’90s, as a twentysomething, I did a stint at Strasbourg II, one of Strasbourg’s many universities. I want others to have the same opportunities. After I finished my degrees, I worked as a university staffer; the Russell Group, where I was employed early in my career, has had to lay on hotlines to provide not only emotional counselling but legal help for its institutions to get indefinite leave to remain for academics who are completely traumatised by what has happened.

I know from friends in the research community that British researchers are already being snubbed for Horizon 2020 funding or are being told, “You can’t be the lead partner institution any more because you will be gone soon”, and we have not even left the EU yet.

[Julian Sturdy (York Outer) (Con)]

The hon. Lady makes some valid arguments. I was on the other side of the Brexit campaign from her, but I know how important universities are. European research funding makes up 11% of the research budget for York University in my constituency. She has hit a key note. We really need to know whether Britain will be part of a wider collaboration with the EU and involved in the future beyond Horizon 2020, whatever it may be. We do not know what that future will be, but we need to make certain that UK universities play a leading role in it.

[Dr Huq]

I completely agree with the hon. Gentleman. There are many unknown unknowns in this debate. A former employer of mine, Professor Martin McQuillan from Kingston University, where I was last employed, has written an article about the post-1992 sector. York is a Russell Group university, as is Cambridge, and Manchester, where I used to work, but at the other end of the spectrum we have the new universities that John Major equalised—the ex-polys, which felt precariously perched anyway. In his article, he outlines some of the pressures—we discussed some of them on Report on the Higher Education and Research Bill on Monday—including rocketing class sizes without commensurate resource, reforms to the research excellent framework, and the new teaching excellence framework.

My old boss says that to some extent EU funding used to level the playing field, but if that is gone, it will tip things even more unequally towards the older universities. He highlights the shocking Higher Education Funding Council for England prediction that between 2015 and 2019, the funding gap between the best and worst-performing institutions will widen, with the spread running from plus 21.5%—some will be in surplus by that much—to the worst performing at minus 28.6%. That is quite a disparity, and it is set to grow; hardly an economy that works for all.

I would rather we had remained in the EU to shape the criteria. One of the arguments was that we might be like Norway, having to do all the same stuff but not making the decisions at the top table. But we are where we are. I shall now go through the list of asks, or—I do not know—demands; or should I be collegiate and friendly and call them the suggestions that we might like to build into a future strategy?

Oral Answers to Questions

Julian Sturdy Excerpts

Tuesday 13th September 2016 Commons Chamber

[David Morris (Morecambe and Lunesdale) (Con)]

6. What steps his Department is taking to promote innovation in all regions of the UK.

[Julian Sturdy (York Outer) (Con)]

7. What steps his Department is taking to promote innovation in all regions of the UK.

[The Minister for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation (Joseph Johnson)]

The Government support innovation through Innovate UK, soon to be part of UK Research and Innovation, and have invested more than £1.8 billion in innovation since 2007. Innovate UK is connecting businesses to local growth through its regional managers, and local enterprise partnerships are supporting innovation through £200 million of local growth funding.

--- Later in debate ---

[Joseph Johnson]

We certainly recognise the value of space to our economy and we are working closely with industry to understand their concerns. We are also working closely with colleagues across the Government to ensure that we understand the impact of the referendum and all the opportunities associated with it, and we will continue to do that as we shape our future relationship with the European Union.

[Julian Sturdy]

The success of our agricultural industry is dependent on the latest innovations in agricultural science and technology, which are driven forward by world-leading research centres such as Fera on the outskirts of York. What assurances can the Minister give us that agri-food research will continue to play an important role in the Government’s overall strategy for supporting innovation and, ultimately, delivering food security?

[Joseph Johnson]

This Government are investing £160 million in agri-tech, including in centres for agricultural innovation, to ensure that our world-leading science is improving productivity on farms. In addition, a UK-wide food innovation network, which is to be launched shortly, will give businesses greater access to technology and science.