Responding to the re-announcement of National Minimum Wage enforcement measures being included in the Queen’s Speech, Shadow Minister for Trade and Investment Ian Murray MP said:

“The government seem more intent on re-announcing the same policies than dealing with the problem of chronic low pay. Ministers have made re-announcement after re-announcement saying they want to crack down on employers who don’t pay the National Minimum Wage, yet they have refused to back Labour’s plans for better enforcement – including by giving local authorities new powers.

“Ed Miliband has set out Labour’s plans to increase the value of the National Minimum Wage and to help businesses pay a living wage through Make Work Pay contracts. The next Labour government will act to make work pay and restore living standards where the value of the minimum wage has been eroded in recent years.

“The Tory-led government cruelly misled hardworking families by raising hopes and promising to raise the National Minimum Wage to £7.00, then failing to deliver, at a time when families are being hit by a cost-of-living crisis.”