Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what comparative assessment he has made of rates of wage growth and inflation.

The fundamentals of the British economy are strong – wages are growing at the fastest rate in over a decade, employment is at a joint record high and the unemployment rate is at its lowest in over 40 years. Inflation has been at or around target since the start of 2019, and as a result wages have now outpaced inflation on a CPI basis for over a year.

On 1 April 2019, we increased the National Living Wage by 4.9% to £8.21 - an above inflation increase which meant that a full-time worker on the National Living Wage would be earning £690 more over the coming year. Supported by the National Living Wage, the lowest earners have seen their wages grow by 8% above inflation between April 2015 and April 2018.