The
National Living Wage will come into force in April. The National Living Wage is a bold step
announced by Chancellor George Osborne in his post-Election budget last July.
At the time
he said; “Britain deserves a pay rise and this one-nation government is making
sure it gets one, helping more people have the security of a higher wage to
provide for themselves and their families.”
I am
delighted that this Conservative Government has taken this step. We live in an area that has many low paying
jobs. The average wage in our
constituency is well below the national average. This has been a long-standing issue and one
that I am keen to address. There are
many measures that we can take, including attracting higher paying jobs to the
area. But this takes time, and the National
Living Wage is an obvious first step that will bring immediate help to many
people.
Alongside
the introduction of the National Living Wage, the Chancellor also increased the
personal allowance to £11,500 per person from 5th April 2017. This means that we can all earn £11,500 that
will be free of income tax. It also
means that much of the increase in wage packets enjoyed in April and thereafter
will be tax free.
The
Conservative One Nation Government wants to improve people’s aspirations, to
make work pay and to tackle the causes of poverty. I believe that the National Living Wage works
towards that goal.
The Living
Wage from 1st April will be set at £7.20 per hour. Anyone currently aged over 25 and earning the
National Minimum Wage of £6.70 per hour will move to the National Living Wage
of £7.20 per hour, a pay rise of some 8% or 50p per hour. For people with a full time job this could
mean an increase in wages of around £900. The Chancellor has a goal of increasing this
wage floor to £9.00 per hour by 2020.
It is worth
taking a step back and considering the wider picture. The Conservative Government inherited a
system where a large number of people in work were paid low wages that were
supplemented by tax credits. The
Chancellor is aiming to shift this so that employers pay people a fair wage
without the need for the tax credit supplement.
The
Chancellor also mitigated the impact of the rise in salary bills for small
businesses by increasing the Employment Allowance from £2,000 to £3,000 and by
increasing small business rate relief.
Employees
on the Minimum Wage have a healthy pay rise to look forward to, and additional
money going into people’s pockets and our local economy can only be a good
thing. I am proud that the Conservative Government
has been able to deliver this important measure.
For more
information on the Living Wage please go to www.livingwage.gov.uk where you will find a helpful calculator and some additional guidance.
My team and I are
here to serve the whole constituency and seek to make a real difference to the
lives of everyone who needs help and support in any way. If there is any issue that we can help you
with then please contact us on either 01726 829379 or on office@stevedouble.org.uk.
