§ 3. Mr. MacShaneIf she will make a statement on the work of the Low Pay Commission, with special reference to Yorkshire. [19870]
§ The Minister of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Mr. Ian McCartney)The Low Pay Commission is undertaking a series of regional visits and will take evidence from a wide range of organisations and individuals on the national minimum wage. I understand that the commission made a successful visit to Yorkshire on 5 December and took evidence from employers, employee organisations, representatives of the Low Pay Unit and the voluntary sector.
§ Mr. MacShaneNow that the shadow President of the Board of Trade has been forced to boot out his deputy, once he was exposed this week as being up to his ears in low-pay, sweatshop employers, can my hon. Friend confirm that in my constituency of Rotherham a survey this week showed that a huge number of employers still pay less than £3 an hour? Those are exactly the sort of exploitative, sweatshop, third-world employers Tory Members support and have direct financial interests in.
§ Mr. McCartneyI can confirm that 4,000 families in Rotherham receive family credit because the pay that they receive at the end of the week is not sufficient for them to live on. As for the hon. Member for Sevenoaks (Mr. Fallon), who threatened that I would not be in this job too long, I think that he has left his post rather more quickly than I am going to do. Perhaps when the hon. Member for Daventry (Mr. Boswell), who has replaced him, comes to the Dispatch Box, he will give us some indications about his farming holdings and how those 470 relate to the National Minimum Wage Bill, in particular clauses 43 and 44 and schedule 2, which all deal with the Agricultural Wages Act 1948.
§ Mr. GrayMy hon. Friend the Member for Sevenoaks (Mr. Fallon) had responsibility for shadowing energy policy, and that is precisely why he has gone to join the man who decides on energy policy—the Paymaster General—at the Treasury.
On a more serious note, will the Minister confirm whether every single low-paid or disabled person in Yorkshire will be paid the minimum wage in full?
§ Mr. McCartneyThe hon. Gentleman knows full well that the hon. Member for Sevenoaks was caught out with a vengeance on Tuesday evening, when trying to defend sweatshop labour. On numerous occasions he was given the opportunity to declare an interest to the House and failed to do so. Even worse, he dismissed the points that were made. As a consequence, he has been moved quickly, because he could not deal with matters relating to the National Minimum Wage Bill. I repeat the question: when the hon. Member for Daventry comes to the Dispatch Box, will he please advise the House how he will be able to manage the issues, given the potential conflict of interest?
The hon. Member for North Wiltshire (Mr. Gray) knows full well that the Low Pay Commission has responsibility to come up with a starting rate for the national minimum wage. We have made it absolutely clear from the outset that there will be no discrimination against people with disabilities who want to claim the national minimum wage.