§ Pete WishartTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if she will estimate the impact of increasing the minimum wage(a) in line with average earnings, (b) to £4.17 per hour, (c) to £4.87 per hour, (d) to £5.00 per hour and (e) to £5.30 per hour, on the cost of salaries of departmental employees (i) in total and (ii) for each nation of the United Kingdom in the next financial year. [90606]
§ Mrs. LiddellIn the current financial year, the lowest salary level in my department is £10,300, which equates to an hourly rate of £4.71. The effect of a minimum wage of £4.17 would therefore be nil.
If the minimum wage was raised to higher levels there would be an effect on the cost of salaries but, given the very small numbers of staff involved, this would not be significant.