Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many HM Revenue and Customs staff worked on national minimum wage enforcement in each of the last five years.

The Government takes the enforcement of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) very seriously. HMRC review every complaint that is referred to them by the Pay and Work Rights Helpline. In addition, HMRC undertake targeted enforcement on employers across the United Kingdom who are more likely to be not paying NMW.

Those employed by HMRC undertaking work on NMW are detailed in the table below. Staff across HMRC contribute to enforcing NMW, including people who work in legal advice, debt management, technical support and criminal investigation amongst others, but HMRC does not record specific numbers of those staff involved beyond those identified below.

HMRC does not hold information on the issue date of Notices of Underpayment. Our management information for all NMW cases records investigation time taken until final closure.