§ Mr. PoundTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on low pay in Northern Ireland. [107698]
§ Mr. Alan JohnsonWe introduced the national minimum wage and the Working Families Tax Credit to help eradicate low pay and lift workers out of in-work poverty, in Northern Ireland as in the rest of the United Kingdom. Latest Office for National Statistics figures indicate that some 20,000 low-paid workers in Northern Ireland had already benefited from the introduction of the national minimum wage at the time of implementation (March-May 1999). We estimate that some 50,000 working families in Northern Ireland have benefited from the Working Families Tax Credit. Latest Office for National Statistics figures indicate that some 20,000 low-paid workers in Northern Ireland had already benefited from the introduction of the national minimum wage at the time of implementation (March-May 1999).