Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Answer of 3 November 2014 to Question 211605, if he will instruct HM Revenue and Customs to keep data in a format that will enable provision of the statistics requested on the amount of arrears paid or not paid to workers.

The government takes enforcement of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) very seriously. Anyone who feels they have been underpaid NMW should contact the Acas helpline on 0300 123 1100. HMRC review all complaints referred to them.

HMRC maintain data of arrears recovered and actively pursue recovery through the civil courts where this is not paid. It is not government policy to provide in-year data as it has not been fully validated. HMRC record outstanding arrears being pursued for earlier years but this data cannot be broken down into individual years due to the way it is maintained. There are no plans to change the way HMRC’s data is maintained as it would be disproportionately expensive to do so.