In today’s 2020 Budget, the Chancellor confirmed that the Low Pay Commission (LPC) would be asked to make recommendations on the National Living Wage with a view to reaching a level of two-thirds of median earnings by 2024, provided economic conditions allow. The Government’s 2020 remit to the LPC has also been published today.

Responding to the Chancellor’s announcement, Bryan Sanderson, Chair of the LPC, said:

We welcome the confirmation of our 2020 remit in today’s Budget. The target for the National Living Wage to reach two-thirds of median earnings by 2024 is an ambitious one. We will need to listen closely to what employers and workers are telling us, and to very carefully assess the economic evidence in making our recommendations. The current concerns around the coronavirus only reinforce the importance of taking economic conditions into account.

We will be launching our written consultation in the coming days, to start the process of making recommendations on the 2021 minimum wage rates.

This is the remit for the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which the Chancellor sets out in a letter to the Governor of the Bank of England.

The Bank of England Act 1998 requires the Treasury to specify at least once every 12 months how price stability will be defined and the government’s economic policy objectives. The remit for the Monetary Policy Committee will continue to be issued alongside future Budgets.

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Latest information and actions from the Education and Skills Funding Agency for academies, schools, colleges, local authorities and further education providers

The British High Commission arranged a forum bringing together eight women parliamentarians – from a range of parties and regions – to discuss and share their stories as political leaders.

The discussion focused around three thematic areas: Gender Inclusivity, Women Leadership and Enabling Environment; and was attended by Senator Ayesha Raza Farooq, Senator Sitara Ayaz, MNA Mehnaz Aziz, MNA Andleeb Abbas, MNA Maleeka Bokhari, MNA Shunila Ruth, MNA Nafisa Shah and MNA Naz Baloch.

The British High Commissioner, Dr Christian Turner, CMG, said:

There is no prosperous future in Pakistan without giving women a voice and choice. I have met many brilliant Pakistani women and I’m impressed by their stories of resilience, hard work and creativity. As the British High Commissioner, I plan to use my time here to promote the UK’s commitment to advance gender equality.

I will work to ensure that more women in Pakistan are heard and have voice in decision-making; I will work to get more girls into schools – and support financial inclusion of women, because an equal world is an enabled world.

Note to editors:

The British High Commissioner issued a video message on International Women’s Day which included a pledge to not participate on an all-male panels.

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