National Minimum Wage

Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Scotland – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 8 May 2001.

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Photo of Mr George Foulkes Mr George Foulkes Minister for Education and Industry, Scottish Office, Minister of State (Scotland Office) 12:00, 8 May 2001

My hon. Friend is right in every respect. Some 70 per cent. of the beneficiaries of the minimum wage have been women. It has had the greatest effect on women's pay since the Equal Pay Act 1970. I am pleased to see that some Tories are rising, to ask questions as they said that jobs would be lost because of the national minimum wage. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. Unemployment has gone down and employment has gone up in every part of the United Kingdom. I notice that SNP Members are not even standing to ask questions on this. As my hon. Friend rightly said, they were not here to go through the Lobby to vote for a national minimum wage. How can they stand up for Scotland when they do not even turn up for Scotland?