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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to increase the pay of workers in the (a) hospitality and (b) retail sectors.

The Government is committed to building an economy that works for everyone. We demonstrated this commitment in April by raising the National Living Wage to £8.21, a 4.9% increase from last year, and bringing in inflation-beating rises to the National Minimum Wage. An estimated 2.1 million workers will benefit from the most recent increases, and the annual earnings of a full-time minimum wage worker have increased by over £2,750 since the introduction of the National Living Wage in April 2016. Latest constituency estimates from April 2018 suggest that 2,900 workers in Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill were on one of the minimum wage rates.

We estimate that in the UK 429,000 workers in the hospitality sector and 347,000 workers in the retail sector will benefit from the increases in the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage from 1 April 2019.

The industry-led Retail Sector Council recently agreed its priority work areas for the next two years, one of which focuses on employment protections. A senior industry figure will lead each of these work groups and bring proposals for action for both industry and Government back to the Council for consideration. The Tourism Industry Council is also working closely with Government Ministers to help improve in-work training and progression opportunities in the tourism and hospitality sector.