Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) direct employees, (b) agency staff and (c) outsourced staff working for (i) his Department and (ii) agencies of his Department are paid less than the living wage, as defined by the Living Wage Foundation.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) pays over and above the National Living Wage that was increased to £7.83 per hour in April 2018.

The MOD has not formally signed up to the Living Wage Rates, as defined by the Living Wage Foundation. In 2015 the then Secretary of State for Defence agreed that all London-based staff should be paid at least the equivalent of the Living Wage Foundation's London Living Wage rate. MOD continues to pay above that rate.

Contracted workers' rates of pay, where paid by their parent company or recruitment agency, are not visible to the MOD.

The MOD does not employ individuals on zero-hours contracts.