HC Deb 23 June 2000 vol 352 cc313-4W
Mr. Miller

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if the Low Pay Commission has been given its new terms of reference; and if any new members have been appointed. [127856]

Mr. Byers

The Government sent new terms of reference to the Low Pay Commission on 15 May and asked it to report by July 2001. I am also pleased to announce the appointment of two new members of the Commission: David Coats and Ian Hay are replacing Bill Callaghan and Laurie Dewar. David Coats is Head of the Economic and Social Affairs Department at the TUC and Ian Hay is the Chief Executive of the Scottish Association of Master Bakers.

Under its new terms of reference, the Commission is asked to: (i) continue to monitor and evaluate the impact of the National Minimum Wage, with particular reference to: the effect on pay, employment and competitiveness in low paying sectors and small firms; the effect on particular groups of workers, such as young people, women, ethnic minorities, homeworkers, people with disabilities and voluntary sector workers; the effect on pay structures, including the effect on differentials and different pay systems, and the impact of the special rules for output work, unmeasured hours work and salaried hours work; the interaction between the national minimum wage and the tax and benefit systems; and the interaction between the national minimum wage and the New Deal 18–24 and the New Deal 25 plus (ii) recommend whether there is a case for increasing the main national minimum wage rate and the development rate, and if so, by how much, and whether there is a case for making any change to the maximum accommodation offset. In reaching views on these matters, the LPC should take into account movements in earnings and the actual and likely future impact on the economy, on employment and on training, with particular attention on the youth labour market. The recommendations on the rates may include a further examination, in the light of fuller evidence, of the case for changing the age at which workers become entitled to the adult rate.

In making its recommendations, the Commission should have regard to the wider economic and social implications; the likely effect on employment and inflation; the impact on the costs and competitiveness of business, particularly the small firms sector, and the potential costs to industry and the Exchequer.

The Commission is asked to report to the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry by July 2001.