Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff her Department are paid less than the London Living Wage; and what requirements her Department places on contractors to pay the London Living Wage to London-based staff.

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.

The Home Office is compliant with April 2019 National Living Wage of £8.21 and pays this regardless of age. The Living Wage Foundation (LWF) is an initiative by Citizens UK which advocates employers paying an alternative hourly rate known as the Living Wage or London Living Wage. The current Living Wage is £9.00 and London Living Wage is £10.55. Currently there are no qualifying staff directly employed by the Department being paid below the Living Wage Foundation rate for London.

The Home Office does not require its contractors or suppliers to comply with the London Living Wage although they must comply with pay legislation.