Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many (a) direct employees, (b) agency staff and (c) outsourced staff working for (i) his Department and (ii) agencies of his Department are paid less than the living wage, as defined by the Living Wage Foundation.

In April 2016 the Government introduced a higher minimum wage rate, called the National Living Wage, which all employers in the UK are required to pay to those aged 25 and over. Defra is compliant with the National Living Wage, and pays this regardless of age.

The National Living Wage is currently set at £7.83 and is different to the Living Wage (LW) or London Living Wage (LLW). These are an alternative hourly rate advocated by the Living Wage Foundation (LWF), which they believe represents a minimum income standard, reflecting the basic cost of living in the UK.

The current Living Wage, as defined by the LWF, is £10.20 p/h for London (referred to as the London Living Wage or LLW) and £8.75 p/h for the rest of the UK. The rates are revaluated each November.

There are no direct employees paid less than the Living Wage, as defined by the LWF, in core Defra, Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), Rural Payments Agency (RPA) and Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD).

There are 17 direct employees paid less than the Living Wage, as defined by the LWF, in the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS). 13 of these are apprentices (Living Wage accreditation does not require employers to pay the Living Wage to apprentices, in recognition of the costs of training); of the other four staff who are paid below the Living Wage, CEFAS has confirmed that these staff are paid in accordance with the National Living Wage.

Data for agency and outsourced staff working in Defra and its agencies is only available at disproportionate cost.