Minimum Wage

Lord Willis of Knaresborough Excerpts

Tuesday 30th November 2010 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Wilcox]

On the first question, I do not have any answer at the moment. I think that everything seems to be as it is. In the remit of the 2011 report, the Low Pay Commission was asked to review the labour market position of young people, including apprenticeships and internships. The commission will continue to do its work and report to the Government by the end of February next year, when I will return with that finding.

[Lord Willis of Knaresborough]

Does my noble friend accept that a significant number of unpaid interns work in the Houses of Parliament and that we should be setting standards rather than exploiting these young people? Furthermore, many young people, particularly from the north of England and with limited income, cannot possibly come to intern here. Will the Minister discuss with her colleagues in DWP the possibility of making JSA available to interns coming to work in Parliament and other places in London so that there is at least a minimum recognition of the expenses that they have to fulfil?

[Baroness Wilcox]

We are unlikely to look at this. However, in BIS we pay interns a wage and things seem to be going very well.