Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to page 20 of the King’s Speech Background Briefing Notes, published by the Prime Minister's Office on 17 July 2024, whether his Department has made an estimate of the number of people who will be affected by the proposals to deliver a genuine living wage (a) nationally and (b) in Edinburgh North and Leith constituency.

The minimum wage has been one of the most effective and successful policy interventions of the last 25 years. The Government is committed to delivering a genuine living wage for working people, and removing the discriminatory age bands, so that all adults can benefit.

The Low Pay Commission (LPC) will complete its April 2025 rate recommendations by the end of October 2024. The government will then announce the rates this Autumn and publish an impact assessment when the regulations are laid which will include estimates of the number of people who will benefit from the uprating. This approach will put more money in working people’s pockets to spend, boosting economic growth, resilience and conditions for innovation.