§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment on how many occasions illegal underpayment was detected in(a) England, (b) Yorkshire and Humberside and (c) West Yorkshire, in the last five years for which figures are available; and how many prosecutions were undertaken in these areas.
§ Mr. Michael ForsythIn, 1992, the wages inspectorate found 5,165 establishments in England paying one or more of their workers less than statutory minimum remuneration. The comparable figure for Yorkshire and Humberside was 875. I regret that there are no separate statistics for West Yorkshire. The inspectorate carried out a total of 27,193 checks on establishments in England and 3,173 in Yorkshire and Humberside. In England, some 97 per cent. of the workers covered were paid at least the statutory minimum remuneration.
The policy of the inspectorate under all Governments has been to seek compliance with wages council orders by persuasion and advice. Prosecution is usually considered 66W only where an offence is deliberate or repeated. In 1992 there were eight prosecutions for underpayment in England, five of which were in Yorkshire and Humberside.