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WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR SOCIAL SECURITY BY DEPUTY S.Y. MÉZEC OF ST. HELIER
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 13TH SEPTEMBER 2016
Question
Following the adoption on 20th January 2016 of Part (b) of Minimum Wage: revised hourly rate from 1st April 2016' (P.150/2015), could the Minister update the Assembly on what progress, if any, has been made in investigating the potential impact on the tax and benefits system of a significant rise in the minimum wage, and confirm whether or not she will be in a position to report back to the States on this matter by December 2016?
Answer
Work to date is proceeding as planned. As promised by the Council of Ministers in response to P.150/2015[1], the Statistics Unit included questions about the impact of a higher minimum wage in the Business Tendency Survey for the first quarter of 2016. In April 2016, the Minister directed the Employment Forum to consider – as part of its annual minimum wage review - the impact of a more significant minimum wage increase, specifically in relation to the aspiration of the States to reach 45 percent of mean weekly earnings by 2026. The Forum consulted in June and July and will deliver its recommendation to the Minister by the end of September. The Minister will then decide whether to accept the recommendation and will lodge any legislation for States debate at the earliest opportunity.
The outcomes of the Forum's review and data from the Business Tendency Survey will feed into the response to part (b) of P.150/2015. It is not anticipated at this time that the report to the States will be delayed. However, further discussions will be required to determine the terms of reference for any further investigations that might be required and to determine the priorities and resources of the Economics Unit in the last quarter of 2016.