Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) attempted prosecutions, (b) successful prosecutions and (c) penalties imposed for failing to pay the National Living Wage there have been in (i) England, (ii) Wales, (iii) Scotland, and (iv) Northern Ireland in each of the last three years.

HMRC reviews all National Minimum Wage (NMW) complaints that are referred to them, in order to ensure that workers receive what they are legally entitled to. Breaches of NMW legislation are normally a civil matter, and consequences for not complying with paying NMW can include fines of up to 200% of the arrears and public naming.

For the most serious NMW breaches, HMRC will refer cases to the CPS who decide whether to prosecute. All HMRC NMW cases taken forward by the CPS have resulted in successful prosecution.

HMRC records do not distinguish between National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage (NLW) cases, nor is data available by reference to individual countries of the United Kingdom.

For the years 2015/2016, 2016/2017 and 2017/2018, HMRC undertook a number of successful criminal and civil actions against employers who failed to pay NMW to their workers.