§ Mr. Nigel GriffithsTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people are benefiting from the national minimum wage in(a) the Edinburgh area and (b) the UK. [159057]
§ Mr. Alan JohnsonWhen the national minimum wage was introduced in April 1999, some 140,000 jobs in Scotland were paying below the minimum rate. The corresponding figure for the United Kingdom was 1.5 million. There are no equivalent data available for individual towns and cities. The LPC has found that the substantial majority of those entitled to the minimum wage are now getting it.