Chancellor sets out plan to end low pay in the UK

 
• National Living Wage set to reach £10.50 by 2024 with a new target to reach two thirds of median earnings

 

• It will be extended to 23-year olds from 2021 and 21-year olds within five years

 

• This will be a pay rise of £4,000 a year by 2024 for the average full-time worker on the National Living Wage

 

• Follows commitments from the Chancellor to a multi-billion infrastructure investment in roads, buses and broadband and a levelling-up of devolved powers across the country

 

The
 Chancellor Sajid Javid MP today announced plans to end low pay in the UK with
 a new target for the National Living Wage and extending it to many more
 workers.

The
 landmark extension to the rules on pay were announced by Sajid Javid in his
 keynote speech to the Conservative Party Conference today.

He
 also unveiled a package of pledges backing “the People’s Priorities”. These
 include:

 
• A multi-billion pound infrastructure investment in local roads, buses and next generation broadband for hard-to-reach areas.

 

• A £500m Youth Investment Fund to build new youth centres and refurbish existing ones to give young people somewhere to go, something to do and someone to talk to.

 

• Levelling up devolved powers across the country to support local growth and deliver better public services where you live.

 

• A £16.6bn commitment to replace EU funding for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland up to 2030, if the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

• A Brexit Red Tape Challenge online portal to give businesses the opportunity to tell government where red tape can be cut to help them boost growth

   

The
 National Living Wage applies only to those over the age of 25. But today’s
 announcement means that within five years two new targets will have been met
 – raising the value of the NLW to two thirds of median earnings and reducing
 the age limit to 21. Low pay is widely defined as being less than two thirds
 of median earnings.

Today’s
 announcement will benefit over 4 million people. By 2024, full-time workers
 on the National Living Wage will see an increase in their annual pay of over
 £4,000 a year compared to the earnings of a full-time worker on the current
 National Living Wage. On current projections, it means the NLW is set to rise
 to £10.50 by 2024.

The
 Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid said:

“Growing
 up above the shop my mum made clothes for, I know the importance of backing
 hard-workers earning the lowest wages.

“It’s
 also important that we support young people starting to build a life for
 themselves.

“Because
 of the hard work of the British people and the difficult decisions of
 successive Conservative governments we are now moving forward from a decade
 of recovery to a decade of renewal.

“We
 will end low pay, deliver an infrastructure revolution and spread opportunity
 to every corner of country.”

ENDS