§ Mr. KempTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the number of people who will benefit financially in the first year from the introduction of a national minimum wage within(a) the Northern Region and (b) the city of Sunderland. [70370]
§ Ms HewittThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Tim Holt to Mr. Fraser Kemp, dated 15 February 1999:
As Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your recent parliamentary question on the introduction of the national minimum wage.The precise information you requested is unavailable. However, estimates of the proportion of people who are currently earning below the minimum wage for (a) the North East Region and (b) the Sunderland Local Authority District are available. These have been placed in the House of Commons Library under the title of "New Earnings Survey (NES) 1998—National Minimum Wage Distribution Tables".