My honourable friend the Minister of State for Employment Relations and Postal Affairs (Pat McFadden) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

I am pleased to announce that the Government have submitted their economic evidence on the national minimum wage to the Low Pay Commission. The commission will take this and all the other evidence received into account when preparing its next report on the minimum wage, which will be submitted to the Government by the end of February 2008.

The economic evidence addresses recent trends in economic and labour market performance, as well as the impact of the national minimum wage on pay, employment and younger workers.

Copies of the Government's economic evidence have been placed in the Libraries of the House and will be posted on the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform website at www.berr.gov.uk.

The Government submitted their evidence on non-economic issues to the commission in October. A combined volume of the non-economic and economic evidence will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses at a later date.