§ 9. Mr. James Plaskitt (Warwick and Leamington)What action he is taking to ensure that employers comply with national minimum wage regulations. [90017]
§ The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (Mr. Stephen Byers)The Inland Revenue is enforcing the national minimum wage with inspectors who respond to complaints from workers and employers. The inspectors have powers to inspect records and to issue enforcement and penalty notices. They can prosecute the worst offenders for the criminal offence of refusal or wilful neglect to pay the minimum wage, and for offences relating to record keeping and obstruction of officers.
§ Mr. PlaskittI thank my right hon. Friend for that answer. A strong enforcement mechanism is clearly welcome, but do not the figures so far tell an interesting story, namely that the vast majority of employers have fully and quickly embraced the national minimum wage, in clear contrast to the Conservative party?
§ Mr. ByersI am delighted that the implementation of the minimum wage, which makes such a fundamental change, has gone through so smoothly. It will be interesting to learn how the hon. Member for Tiverton and Honiton (Mrs. Browning), now that she has responsibility for these matters, views the minimum wage and whether she now supports the principle. In the past, she was fundamentally opposed to its introduction—
§ Mrs. Angela Browning (Tiverton and Honiton)We voted against it.
§ Mr. ByersThe hon. Lady is saying that she voted against it. I am sure that we have all noted that that remains the Conservatives' position.
My hon. Friend the Member for Warwick and Leamington (Mr. Plaskitt) is right to say that the principle of the national minimum wage has won broad acceptance 558 but that we need to have in place strong methods of enforcement. We have that framework in place through the Inland Revenue, whose officers will have new powers as a result of amendments made to the Employment Relations Bill as it passed through the House of Lords. It is clear that the minimum wage is here to stay under the Labour Government, and that it would be threatened by the policies that the hon. Member for Tiverton and Honiton would pursue.
§ Mr. Desmond Swayne (New Forest, West)Does the Secretary of State agree that compliance will be greater the more reasonable the regulations are? Will he undertake to examine the regulations as they affect the provision of lodgings, for it is unlikely that he would be able to find lodgings anywhere in this country for less than £20 a week? Will he also examine the regulations as they affect the provision of full board, of which the minimum wage takes no account?
§ Mr. ByersBoth issues are currently being considered by the Low Pay Commission, which is due to report to me in December with its views on how those items are having an impact on the national minimum wage.
§ Ms Harriet Harman (Camberwell and Peckham)Does the Secretary of State share my view that one of the most important aspects of the national minimum wage is that, coupled with the working families tax credit, it means that parents with young children do not have to work all hours to make ends meet? What plans does he have to monitor another important aspect of the Government's family-friendly policies—the forthcoming rights to parental and family leave?
§ Mr. ByersMy right hon. Friend makes an important point. We intend to ensure that there is compliance with the national minimum wage, which is why I can inform the House that we have received 1,900 complaints of underpayment since its introduction. Of those, 800 have been settled, and the remaining 1,100 are now being pursued; we shall ensure that there is compliance by the employers concerned. That is part of our family-friendly approach to employment provisions.
My right hon. Friend is absolutely right to say that we shall be setting up important initiatives, which are a result of the measures in the Employment Relations Bill. We have to ensure that the unpaid parental leave regulations are introduced in a way that has support from employers and employees, and that parental leave is a right and entitlement that is taken up by mothers and fathers, discharging their joint responsibility in that important area. I assure my right hon. Friend that we shall want to monitor that closely to guarantee that the rights that we are providing are taken up effectively.
§ Mrs. Cheryl Gillan (Chesham and Amersham)I presume that the Secretary of State will agree that the Government are the employer of all locally engaged staff in every British embassy and high commission throughout the world. Are all those staff paid above or at the national minimum wage?