Oral Answers to Questions

Jenny Willott Excerpts

Thursday 26th June 2014 Commons Chamber

[Andy Sawford (Corby) (Lab/Co-op)]

13. What resources have been allocated for enforcement action against employers who do not pay the national minimum wage.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Jenny Willott)]

The Government are committed to increasing compliance with minimum wage legislation. Everyone who is entitled to the minimum wage should receive it. Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs has 173 staff dedicated to enforcing the national minimum wage, and the Government are already taking tougher action on employers who break the law. We have made it simpler to name and shame employers who do not pay the national minimum wage and have increased the financial penalties for breaking the law.

[Andy Sawford]

I thank the Minister for her response, but in Corby HMRC found that £120,000 was owed to local workers, and that was just on a three-day visit, so it was the tip of the iceberg and we need to do much more. Will she, in her last days in her role, leave a present for her successor by beginning a review into how local authorities could take a much stronger enforcement role? They currently enforce on planning, parking and environmental health, so why can they not have a role in making the local labour market work for people?

[Jenny Willott]

Clearly we feel very strongly that employers should pay the national minimum wage. People working on the minimum wage are, by definition, on the lowest incomes in society, so it is critical that everything is done to ensure that they are paid it. Every complaint that is made to the pay and work rights helpline is investigated, and where arrears are found they are paid back and employers pay a significant penalty. We are happy to work with any part of Government and any organisations that are keen to ensure that the minimum wage is paid. We will ensure that any complaints reported to the pay and work rights helpline are investigated.

[Ian Murray (Edinburgh South) (Lab)]

I pay tribute to the hon. Member for Cardiff Central (Jenny Willott), who has always been a very kind and effective Minister, and wish her well in her return to the dark arts of the Government Whips Office. Given that compliment, I am sure that she will wish to agree with me that any sanctions for non-compliance with the national minimum wage are ineffective without proper enforcement. Figures show that since the Government came to power the number of national minimum wage inspections is down by 60%, with only two prosecutions. That is hardly surprising, given that a recent answer she gave to a parliamentary question committed a budget of £9.2 million to enforcement, but the head of the national minimum wage enforcement unit publicly stated only last month that the budget is just £8 million. Just like the Chancellor’s hollow promise to increase the national minimum wage to £7, is this not just another example of the Government failing to stand up for the lowest paid against rogue employers?

[Jenny Willott]

I completely disagree with the hon. Gentleman. The enforcement action taken by HMRC has significantly increased the number of workers who are getting the wages they are due. Between 2009-10 and 2013-14, there was an increase of over 17% in the number of workers who were helped and were given arrears, and the amount that has been paid back has been increased significantly. In addition, we are increasing fourfold the penalty that employers have to pay, and we now have in place a very draconian naming and shaming scheme. That means that all employers who are found not to have paid the national minimum wage are put forward for naming and shaming, and, unless exceptional circumstances are involved, they will be named publicly. That is acting as a real disincentive to employers not to treat their staff fairly.

[Neil Carmichael (Stroud) (Con)]

14. What assessment he has made of recent trends in the level of manufacturing.

--- Later in debate ---

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

Will the Minister update the House on the progress made in tackling non-compliance by employers who fail to pay apprentices the rate they should?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Jenny Willott)]

We wrote to the Low Pay Commission on its remit for next year. One of the things we have asked it to look at is the apprenticeship rate for the national minimum wage. We are aware that there are a lot of concerns, particularly about non-compliance in paying the national minimum wage for apprentices. The system is quite complex and often employers find it difficult to navigate. We have asked the Low Pay Commission to work out how the system could be simplified to ensure better compliance by employers.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

A recent Which? investigation found that ticketing companies can add up to 37% to the face value of a ticket for music and theatre events in booking and delivery fees. Given that the market is dominated by a handful of big players, is the Minister confident that consumers are getting a good deal?

[Jenny Willott]

We have done a lot of work on ticketing. As I am sure the hon. Gentleman is aware, we discussed this issue a number of times during the passage of the Consumer Rights Bill. The Department has been working with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to look at the issue and a number of things are being done to try to tackle ticket touting, while trying to ensure that we still have a vibrant market so that individuals who buy tickets and want to resell them because they cannot attend an event are able to do so fairly and openly.

[Luciana Berger (Liverpool, Wavertree) (Lab/Co-op)]

Like a number of MPs, I have taken on an apprentice, something that has been recommended by the Minister, but as a small employer this has only been made possible by the Liverpool chamber of commerce, which provides all the training, development and support for James, my apprentice. Under his proposed reforms, how does the Minister expect MPs to take on apprentices and provide the same high standard of training and support and administer training budgets? How much time does he expect us to take on this?