Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to tackle wage stagnation.
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), total pay increased by 1.8% on the year in the three months to May. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) also expect wages to increase in each year of their forecast.
The Government is taking action to support wages. Introduced in April 2016, the National Living Wage has benefitted around 1.7 million low paid workers and delivered the fastest wage growth for the lowest paid in 20 years. Furthermore, the Government has boosted take home pay with increases to personal allowance, where 1.3 million individuals will be taken out of income tax this year.