The UK’s national living wage is to increase from £8.91 to £9.50 in this week’s Budget, the Treasury has confirmed, with Conservatives claiming full-time workers will earn an extra £1,000-a-year as a result.
Previously known as the national minimum wage, the change will apply to workers aged 23 and over, with a lower rate in place for younger workers.
Ministers have already pledged to raise the adult rate to two thirds of median earnings by the end of the Parliament – around £10.40 – with Labour saying it wants a minimum wage of at least £10.
But the wage rise comes at the same time as the government increases national insurance contributions for low earners and cuts universal credit (UC) payments. “This is a good thing to be applauded,” tweeted left-wing commentator Owen Jones, “but it’s offset by a cut in UC that leaves many low-paid workers in poverty.”
Elsewhere, Sajid Javid, the health secretary, admitted it is “impossible to know” whether the NHS backlog will be cleared within three years, despite the Treasury pledging £6bn to help solve the problem as part of Rishi Sunak’s autumn Budget.
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