Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure that National Minimum Wage rates are (a) applied and (b) enforced for seafarers employed to work on oil and gas decommissioning projects on the UK continental shelf.

The National Minimum Wage (Offshore Employment) Order 1999 applies the 1998 National Minimum Wage Act to offshore employment in the territorial waters of the UK and the UK sector of the continental shelf.

The Government is clear that everyone who is entitled to the National Minimum Wage (NMW) or National Living Wage (NLW) should receive it. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) investigates every complaint it receives and workers can call the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) Helpline (on 0300 123 1100) for information and guidance about the NMW, or visit their website (www.acas.org.uk).

Furthermore, the Government has established the Legal Working Group on Seafarers to improve the guidance on these matters, and to ensure seafarers are aware of their rights.