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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has plans for his Department to be accredited by the National Living Wage Foundation in relation to paying the real living wage; and if he will make a statement.

The Department has no immediate plans to seek accreditation from the National Living Wage Foundation in relation to paying the real living wage. However, the Department does qualify to apply for the referenced accreditation as we do not employ anyone, either nationally or in London, that earns less than the hourly living wage rate for the respective areas as defined by the National Living Wage Foundation. A table highlighting the Department’s lowest hourly rate of pay in comparison to the current National Living Wage hourly rate is shown below.