Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the level of the national living wage.

The Government has set an ambitious target for achieving a National Living Wage that represents 60% of median earnings by 2020 subject to sustained economic growth. The National Living Wage (NLW) rate is recommended to the Government by the independent Low Pay Commission (LPC). To make their recommendations, the LPC draws on a wide range of analysis, including independent research and stakeholder evidence from both employers and trade unions.

From 1 April 2018 the Government raised the NLW from £7.50 to £7.83, which means a full-time worker will see their earnings grow by more than £600 this year.