Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many employers in Wales her Department named as being non-compliant with minimum wage legislation in each year since 2019.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government takes enforcement of the minimum wage seriously. We take robust action against employers who do not pay their staff correctly. Publicly naming employers who do not comply with the rules is an important part of enforcement.
Table 1: Employers named as being non-compliant with minimum wage legislation in Wales, 2019/20 to 2023/24. No rounds of the Naming Scheme took place in 2019/20 and 2022/23.
Financial Year | Region | Employers named |
2019/20 | Wales | N/A |
2020/21 | Wales | 5 |
2021/22 | Wales | 14 |
2022/23 | Wales | N/A |
2023/24 | Wales | 25 |
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many times her Department has taken enforcement action against businesses for non-compliance with minimum wage legislation in each financial year since 2015.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
All businesses – irrespective of their size or business sector – are responsible for paying the correct minimum wage to their staff. The government is clear that anyone entitled to be paid the minimum wage should receive it and takes robust enforcement action against employers who do not pay their staff correctly. HMRC enforces minimum wage regulations on behalf of DBT.
Table 1: National Minimum Wage arrears, workers identified, and penalties issued from 2015/16 – 2021/22. Statistics for 2022/23 have not been published yet.
Financial year | Arrears | Number of workers | Penalties issued |
2015/16 | £10,281,396 | 58,080 | 815 |
2016/17 | £10,918,047 | 98,150 | 821 |
2017/18 | £15,615,609 | 201,785 | 810 |
2018/19 | £24,447,919 | 221,581 | 1,008 |
2019/20 | £20,836,609 | 263,350 | 992 |
2020/21 | £16,758,324 | 155,196 | 575 |
2021/22 | £16,316,841 | 120,295 | 696 |
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, in how many cases businesses in Wales were found to be non-compliant with minimum wage legislation in each year since 2019.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
All businesses – irrespective of their size or business sector – are responsible for paying the correct minimum wage to their staff. The government is clear that anyone entitled to be paid the minimum wage should receive it and takes robust enforcement action against employers who do not pay their staff correctly. HMRC enforces minimum wage regulations on behalf of DBT. Regional data for Wales has been provided in Table 1.
Table 1: National Minimum Wage arrears, workers identified, and penalties issued in Wales, 2019/20 to 2021/22.
Financial Year | Region | Arrears | Number of workers | Penalties issued |
2019/20 | Wales | £325,419 | 4,227 | 41 |
2020/21 | Wales | £262,408 | 3,895 | 14 |
2021/22 | Wales | £69,769 | 661 | 43 |
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many minimum wage investigations HMRC concluded in each financial year since 2019 in Wales.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is determined that everyone who is entitled to the National Minimum Wage (NMW) receives it.
HMRC continues to crack down on employers who ignore the law, ensuring that workers receive the wages they are entitled to.
Data on the number of closed investigations in Wales is published routinely by financial years.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department undertook an impact assessment on separating International Drivers Permits from other DVLA delivered services.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency carried out an open competition for the contract to provide a counter service for International Driving Permits (IDPs), in line with the Public Contract Regulations 2015. PayPoint was awarded the contract.
The new contract provides the option for selected Paypoint outlets to issue IDPs. These selected PayPoint outlets provide the geographical coverage to ensure that at least 90% of the population are within ten miles of an IDP issuing outlet within the UK. The PayPoint service started on 1 April 2024.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when she plans to respond to the correspondence of 30 March 2024 from the hon. Member for Cardiff Central.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The correspondence from the hon. Member for Cardiff Central was responded to on 26th April 2024.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many applications for R&D tax credits were denied in each month in 2023.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC publish R&D statistics annually, the latest publication can be found on Gov.uk at Research and Development Tax Credits Statistics: September 2023.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many applications for R&D tax credits were approved in each month in 2023.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC publish R&D statistics annually, the latest publication can be found on Gov.uk at Research and Development Tax Credits Statistics: September 2023.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many applications for R&D tax credits were outstanding in each month in 2023.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC publish R&D statistics annually, the latest publication can be found on Gov.uk at Research and Development Tax Credits Statistics: September 2023.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, with reference to paragraphs 7.16 and 7.17 of the Ministerial Code, on how many occasions Ministers in his Department have informed the Law Officers that they are the defendants in a libel action in (a) their personal capacity, (b) their official position and (c) both since 19 December 2019.
Answered by David T C Davies - Secretary of State for Wales
As per paragraph 2.13 of the Ministerial Code, it is not possible to disclose whether Law Officers have or have not provided advice on such matters. Paragraph 2.13 states: “The fact that the Law Officers have advised or have not advised, and the content of their advice must not be disclosed outside Government without their authority”.