§ 55. Mr. Litherlandasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will estimate the number of people whose pay is below the current legal minimum.
§ Mr. GummerNo firm estimate of the number can be made as Wages Inspectorate statistics are not derived from a representative sample. However, it is possible to obtain a rough indication of the general level of compliance in wages council trades. In 1982, for example, 6.2 per cent. of the workers whose pay rates were covered by checks carried out by the inspectorate were found to be underpaid.