§ 40. Mr. McKelveyasked the Paymaster General what is his latest estimate of the number of firms paying workers less than wages council minimum rates in (a) Ayrshire and (b) Kilmarnock and Loudoun; and how many subsequent prosecutions have taken place since June 1983.
§ Mr. TrippierNo estimates of the numbers of firms paying workers less than the wages councils' minimum rates have been made. However, Wages Inspectorate statistics for 1985 show that 19 per cent. of all establishments checked in the Scotland (west) division of the inspectorate, which includes Kilmarnock and Loudoun, were underpaying one or more of their workers. This figure is not representative of all firms covered by wages councils because the inspectorate tends to concentrate on the firms more likely to be underpaying.
Statistics are not collected for areas smaller than Wages Inspectorate divisions.
No firms in the Scotland (west) division have been prosecuted since June 1983 for offences under wages council legislation.