HC Deb 10 April 1967 vol 744 cc710-1
5. Mr. Winnick

asked the Minister of Labour whether further consideration is being given to the fixing of a national minimum wage.

Mr. Hattersley

The Government intend to keep under review all ways in which the worst-off members of the community might be helped. The problem is to ensure that any measures taken confer real and lasting benefit, and are not cancelled out by the reactions of the rest of the community. That is why the Government have to consider the possibilities in their widest context.

Mr. Winnick

Can the Parliamentary Secretary say what consideration has been given to Frank Cousins's suggestion of a £15-a-week minimum income? Is it not a disgrace that in 1967 so many people should earn less than £15 a week, people such as retail drapery workers, even though the Prices and Incomes Board does not seem to mind?

Mr. Hattersley

My hon. Friend will know from a succession of Wednesday evening debates that the figure of £15 a week is certainly in the Government's mind, but he will also understand that, on the one hand, the Government are being pressed to allow wages to fluctuate freely and, on the other hand, to do something about a minimum level. That poses for the Government specific and very detailed questions.

Mr. R. Carr

Is not the whole concept of the minimum standard of living principally a function of the social services, and should not the Government consider the two together and give some firm statement to the country?

Mr. Hattersley

Certainly the function of a minimum wage as it reflects standard of living is a matter for the social services because it is dependent on family size and commitments as much as on earning power, but questions relating to that aspect of the subject must be addressed to my right hon. Friend the Minister of Social Security.