Low Pay

Oral Answers to Questions — Northern Ireland – in the House of Commons at 11:30 am on 24 June 2015.

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Photo of Jo Stevens Jo Stevens Labour, Cardiff Central 11:30, 24 June 2015

What steps the Government are taking to tackle low pay in Northern Ireland.

Photo of John Woodcock John Woodcock Shadow Minister (Education)

What steps the Government is taking to tackle low pay in Northern Ireland.

Photo of Ben Wallace Ben Wallace Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Northern Ireland Office)

My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has announced that, from October, the national minimum wage will increase by 3% to £6.70 per hour, the largest real-terms increase since 2006. The Government are also committed to increasing the personal allowance to £12,500, and to ensuring that anyone who works at least 30 hours a week on the minimum wage pays no tax at all.

Photo of Jo Stevens Jo Stevens Labour, Cardiff Central

The Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action has said that introducing the living wage would benefit 173,000 low-paid workers, giving them an average pay rise of £1,300 a year. What are the Government doing to help workers in Northern Ireland, which has the lowest private sector pay rates in the United Kingdom?

Photo of Ben Wallace Ben Wallace Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Northern Ireland Office)

One of the best ways to help the low paid is to allow them to keep as much as possible of the money that they earn. The hon. Lady will be delighted to learn that, according to the most recent figures from the Office for National Statistics, average gross weekly earnings in Northern Ireland have increased by 10.2% over the past year. That is a whacking, massively great increase compared with the United Kingdom average of 1.7%. I am sure that the hon. Lady will be delighted to recognise that our long-term economic plan is working for the low paid in Northern Ireland.

Photo of John Woodcock John Woodcock Shadow Minister (Education)

I welcome the Minister—my neighbour—to his post, and hope that he will be successful in it.

One in five children in Northern Ireland lives in poverty. The Government are not really considering going back on their legal commitment to tackle child poverty, are they?

Photo of Ben Wallace Ben Wallace Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Northern Ireland Office)

Like every previous Government, this Government have tried—and, in many instances, continued successfully—to deal with child poverty. Let me reiterate that one of the best ways of doing that is to make sure that works pays, and that people keep the money that they earn. To ensure that that happens, we have increased the personal tax allowance by 63% since 2010, from £6,475 to £10,600.

Photo of Bob Blackman Bob Blackman Conservative, Harrow East

Does my hon. Friend agree that the key to rebalancing the Northern Ireland economy is reducing taxes and regulation, so that the private sector can invest and create new jobs and opportunities for the people of Northern Ireland?

Photo of Ben Wallace Ben Wallace Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Northern Ireland Office)

That absolutely is the key, and our long-term economic plan will deliver a rebalancing of the economy and new jobs. I am delighted to say that 40,000 more people are employed in Northern Ireland than was the case in May 2010. Giving people jobs is the fastest way out of poverty, and ensuring that the Northern Ireland economy converges with and improves alongside that of the rest of the United Kingdom is our number one priority.

Photo of Alex Cunningham Alex Cunningham Labour, Stockton North

Some 89,000 working families in Northern Ireland receive an average of £4,000 a year from the child element of tax credit. How will the Minister help them to restore the money that they will lose when the Prime Minister implements his welfare cuts?

Photo of Ben Wallace Ben Wallace Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Northern Ireland Office)

The best way to help those people is to ensure that there is an economy that allows them to work, rather than forcing them to rely on the benefits system. It is interesting to note that ours is the party that wants to give people a hand up, while the hon. Gentleman’s party seems to want to give them a handout.

Photo of Mark Durkan Mark Durkan Social Democratic and Labour Party, Foyle

I must not pre-empt job news which will be heard later today in Derry, and which will obviously be welcome in a city and region with high unemployment and a lower wage profile. Given that lower wage profile, however, are Northern Ireland Ministers discussing with their Treasury colleagues the possible implications of the changes that are afoot in relation to tax credits, not least the implications for cross-border workers?

Photo of Ben Wallace Ben Wallace Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Northern Ireland Office)

We are, of course, always talking to the Treasury to ensure that Northern Ireland’s voice is heard and its special needs recognised. We are also working hard with the Northern Ireland parties to ensure that, should the Stormont House agreement be fully implemented, we can achieve the most competitive possible corporation tax in the rest of the United Kingdom in order to allow further inward investment.