Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of the public sector pay freeze on the recruitment and retention of staff by local authorities.

Every part of the public sector has played a role in helping to lower the deficit. Councils, as independent employers, take local decisions about pay and consider how these decisions impact on their workforces.

At the Budget, the my rt. hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer (George Osborne) announced the introduction of a new National Living Wage of over £9 by 2020. The National Living Wage is expected to benefit around 6 million low paid people across the country.