Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) direct employees, (b) outsourced workers and (c) workers in agencies which report to his Department are paid less than the Living Wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation.

As of 1 August 2014 out of 68732 direct employees, 324 direct employees are paid less than the rate defined by the ‘Living Wage Foundation’. This calculation is based upon the UK living wage as of 4 November 2013.

The direct employees included form part of the core Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and its agencies National Offender Management Service (NOMS), HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), Legal Aid Agency (LAA) and Office of the Public Guardian (OPG).

Pay rate decisions made on 1 August2014 mean that no permanent employee on core departmental terms and conditions are paid below the living wage rate. 11 permanent employees individuals on legacy terms & conditions following Machinery of Government changes remain below living wage levels,. These employees have been offered the option to move onto MoJ terms and conditions.

In NOMS, the number of direct employees who are paid below living wage levels currently stands at 313.

Information on contractors paid less than the rate defined by the ‘Living Wage Foundation’ as a living wage is not recorded centrally. We would need to approach all of our contractors and or their agencies and get them to provide the information. This could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.