Farron welcomes 20% minimum wage rise for apprentices

South Lakes MP Tim Farron has welcomed the news that local apprentices will receive a 20% increase in their pay from October. The announcement is part of a package of measures to increase pay of 1.4 million people in the UK.

From Thursday 1 October 2015, the adult rate of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) will rise by 20 pence from £6.50 to £6.70 per hour, as recommended by the Low Pay Commission (LPC) in March 2015 this year. The hourly rate for younger workers will also rise, and for apprentices it will go up by 20% - or 57p - to £3.30 an hour.

From 1 October 2015:

• the adult rate will increase by 20 pence to £6.70 per hour
• the rate for 18 to 20 year olds will increase by 17 pence to £5.30 per hour
• the rate for 16 to 17 year olds will increase by 8 pence to £3.87 per hour
• the apprentice rate will increase by 57 pence to £3.30 per hour
• the accommodation offset increases from the current £5.08 to £5.35

This is the largest real-terms increase in the National Minimum Wage since 2007, and more than 1.4 million of Britain's lowest-paid workers are set to benefit. Statistics released in January by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills today show that we have created 3,280 apprenticeships in our area since 2010.

Tim said: "Raising the rate of pay for apprenticeships is much needed and will make a big difference. In our area this will allow more people to earn and learn at the same time. Over the last five years, I have been working hard to create better paid jobs and raising the pay of apprenticeships is a key plank of that."