§ Mr. BaldryTo ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to her oral statement of 18 June 1998,Official Report, columns 507–19, if she will list the range of estimates her Department has produced relating to the impact of a minimum wage on employment levels. [47141]
§ Mr. Ian McCartneyThe Government share the Low Pay Commission's view that the national minimum wage set at the level proposed should have no significant impact on employment.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will estimate the net cost or benefit to(a) Government, (b) employers and (c) employees of the minimum wage proposals in the first 12 months of its operation. [47235]
§ Mr. Ian McCartneyThe national minimum wage will bring benefits to all. It will encourage people to move from dependence on state benefits into work; employers' productivity will improve as the morale of their workforces rises and staff turnover falls. The minimum wage set at the level proposed will help some 2 million low paid workers escape from poverty pay.