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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to raise wages for the self-employed.

Many people choose to be self-employed because of the greater autonomy it gives them over when they work and what work they do.

In February 2016 the Department of Business Innovation and Skills published research on self-employment. This showed that 84% of self-employed people thought their life overall was better in self-employment, compared with being an employee, and over half believed they were better off financially.

The Matthew Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices looked at ways to ensure that the regulatory framework surrounding employment, and the support Government provides to businesses and workers, were keeping pace with changes in the labour market and the economy, including the rise in self-employment.

This Government will give the report the careful consideration it deserves and will respond in full later this year.