Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 3.48 of the Autumn Statement 2016, on national minimum wage enforcement, what the (a) budget, (b) staffing capacity and (c) start date is of the additional support targeted at small businesses.

The Government is determined that everyone who is entitled to the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW) receives it. Anyone who feels they have been underpaid NMW or NLW should contact the Acas helpline on 0300 123 1100. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) reviews all complaints that are referred to it.

The Government has more than trebled annual funding of minimum wage enforcement since 2014, providing a total budget of £25.3m in 2017/18. This investment has enabled a significant expansion of resources dedicated to enforcing the minimum wage.

There are currently 291 staff in HMRC's NMW teams, up from 237 in 2015/16. Other staff across HMRC contribute to enforcing NMW and NLW, including: lawyers, technical advisers, and those specialising in criminal investigations amongst others. However, HMRC does not record the specific numbers of those staff involved beyond those identified above or break down budget from the overall allocation. Paragraph 3.48 of the Autumn Statement 2016 provided funding from 2017/18 and so start dates for providing additional support for small businesses and the work to increase awareness of NMW rights and responsibilities are yet to be confirmed.