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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent steps she has taken to encourage companies operating in the UK to ensure that workers throughout its supply chain are paid a living wage.

Through the National Living Wage (NLW) and National Minimum Wage (NMW) the Government helps to protect the lowest paid in society. In April, the Government increased the NLW by 4.9% to £8.21. This means that a full-time worker on the NLW will be £2,750 better off over the course of a year, compared to when the policy was first introduced.

Employers are required by law to ensure that all workers due the NMW or NLW receive it. The Government takes tough action against the minority of employers who underpay the NMW. We have doubled the budget for NMW enforcement and compliance to £27.4 million since 2015.

The Government also encourages employers to pay more than the NLW where they can but recognises that the ability to do so will vary across businesses and sectors.