§ Mr. AlexanderTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many calls have been received by the Minimum Wage Hotline(a) in his Department's administrative region containing Paisley, (b) in Scotland and (c) nationally; and what action he is taking to publicise the existence of the service. [113552]
§ Mr. Alan Johnson[holding answer 8 March 2000]: Nationally, as at 7 March, the National Minimum Wage helpline had received over 157,000 calls. Information on the total number of calls received by the helpline is not broken down by region. Some calls are anonymous and addresses are not taken. Others are simple inquiries where it would not be appropriate to request such information.
The helpline telephone number (0845 6000 678) is given in all National Minimum Wage literature and publicity. Last spring we spent £5 million publicising the minimum wage which included national TV coverage and gave details of the rates and confidential helpline number.
There will be further publicity in advance of the youth rate increase on 1 June, and the main rate increase on 1 October, and this will also feature the helpline number prominently.