§ Mr. D. E. Thomasasked the Secretary of State for Employment what would be the total cost of introducing a national minimum wage for all employees set at £25 per week.
§ Mr. BoothThe total cost of introducing a national minimum wage of £25 is impossible to estimate because the consequences, for example on numbers of jobs and on adjustments in pay for those already above the minimum, cannot be foreseen. The simple cost of raising wages at present below £25 a week to that level is estimated at approximately £1,400 million—3½ per cent. of the national pay bill.