Asked by: Gloria De Piero (Labour - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much funding the Government contributed to the Mineworkers' Pension Scheme prior to the privatisation of the scheme in 1994; when this money was paid in; and for what reason.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
The Government’s involvement in the Scheme began at privatisation. Until that point, the scheme was funded by member contributions and British Coal contributions. British Coal’s share of the surplus immediately prior to privatisation was allocated to the Scheme as the Investment Reserve, available to make good any deficit which should arise in the fund.
Asked by: Gloria De Piero (Labour - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what proportion of jobs in (a) Nottinghamshire, (b) the East Midlands and (c) England are paid the National Living Wage or National Minimum Wage for employees aged 16 to 24.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Through the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage, the Government ensures that the lowest paid in our society are fairly rewarded for their work. Workers under the age of 25 are entitled to one of the National Minimum Wage rates, which are set as high as possible without damaging young people’s employment prospects.
From April 2019, those aged 16-24 will benefit from inflation-beating increases in the youth rates. About 271,000 workers under the age of 25 in England are expected to be covered by one of the National Minimum Wage rates, including 36,000 in the East Midlands. The Government has not published figures for Nottinghamshire for 2019. However, about 3,800 workers aged 16 or over were on the National Living Wage or the National Minimum Wage in Ashfield in April 2018, representing 9% of the constituency’s workforce.
The Government also commends employers who are able to pay above the minimum. According to the independent Low Pay Commission, more than nine in ten workers under the age of 25 were paid above their age-applicable National Minimum Wage rate in the UK in April 2018.
Asked by: Gloria De Piero (Labour - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what percentage of jobs in Ashfield constituency pay (a) the national minimum wage and (b) sums up to the living wage.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Through the National Living Wage (NLW) and National Minimum Wage (NMW) the Government helps to protect the lowest paid in society. We are committed to raising the NLW to 60 per cent of median earnings by 2020, subject to economic growth.
On 1 April 2019, the NLW will increase by 4.9% to £8.21. This means that the annual earnings of a full-time worker on the NLW will have increased by £2,750 since the policy was introduced. Increases to the NMW rates, also effective from 1 April, will continue to outstrip inflation.
The Government estimates that in the Ashfield constituency 3,800 workers are paid the NLW (for those aged 25 and over) or NMW rates (for those aged between 16-24 and apprentices). This represents 9 per cent of the constituency’s workforce. This estimate is obtained from the Office for National Statistics’ Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE).