§ Mr. Matthew TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the impact of the minimum wage on summary measures of inequality, with particular reference to the gini coefficient and Atkinson index; by what method the assessment was made; and if he will make a statement. [119826]
§ Mr. Alan JohnsonThe Low Pay Commission looked in depth at the impact of the minimum wage on inequality and income distribution. As it says in its second report
The impact of the national minimum wage on household incomes is complex, being affected by the way that statutory wage increases interact with the tax and benefits systems.The issues of poverty and inequality are explored extensively in the Commission's Occasional Paper 2, published in June 1999. Overall, it found that the minimum wage, together with other tax and benefit changes, should prove a powerful tool in tackling in-work poverty.
§ Mr. AlexanderTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many employers have been reported by inspectors for paying less than the national minimum wage in(a) Britain, (b) Scotland and (c) the relevant area of record, which includes the constituency of Paisley, South. [120394]
§ Mr. Alan JohnsonThe number of instances of employer non-compliance identified by minimum wage officers for the year ended 31 March 2000 is as follows:
- (a) 1,280 employers in the UK, including Northern Ireland
- (b) 105 employers in Scotland
A more localised disaggregation of these figures is not available.