§ Pete WishartTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will estimate the impact of increasing the minimum wage(a) in line with average earnings, (b) to £4.17 per hour, (c) to £4.87 per hour, (d) to £5.00 per hour and (e) to £5.30 per hour, on the cost of salaries of departmental employees (i) in total and (ii) for each nation of the United Kingdom in the next financial year. [90604]
§ Alun MichaelThere would be no impact to the cost of salaries to core Defra employees by increasing the national minimum wage by the amounts quoted, either nationally or across the Department in total. The minimum salary for a Defra employee is already above the rates quoted. This is a national salary payable to Defra employees across the United Kingdom.