Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate he has made of the number of young workers in Blackley and Middleton South who will be effected by (a) the delay in aligning the Minimum Wage with other workers and (b) the total estimated loss of wages to young constituents.

Data on the effects of the National Minimum Wage at constituent level is not held. However, in the North West an estimated 30,000 on the 18–20 rate are expected to benefit from the 8.5% increase of the 18-20-year-old National Minimum Wage on 1 April.

The government remains fully committed to the alignment of the National Minimum Wage with the National Living Wage rate. The pace and timing of alignment will be guided by expert advice from the Low Pay Commission based on the latest evidence. The latest remit allows the Commission to balance the ambition to remove age bands, with protecting employment prospects for young people.