§ 16. Mr. Jim MurphyTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on low pay in Scotland. [104942]
§ Mr. WilsonThe Government are committed to tackling low pay through the national minimum wage. The Low Pay Commission found, in their First Report, that low pay occurs throughout the country and there is often much variation within different parts of the country as there is between one part of the country and another. Latest figures indicate that some 40,000 low paid workers in Scotland had already benefited from the introduction of the national minimum wage at the time of implementation (March-May 1999). The second report of the Low Pay Commission will be published soon, and we expect this to give more detail about low pay by region.