Pay boost for 2m workers as Hunt to confirm living wage rises to £11 an hour

Workers could see their pay packets feel heavier as Jeremy Hunt is set to announce a rise in the national living wage to at least £11 an hour from next April.

The Chancellor is expected to confirm the move in a speech at Conservative party conference in Manchester today which will benefit 2m of the lowest earners.

Hunt is also expected to announce ministers will look again at the benefit sanctions regime in a bid to get the unemployed back into work, following his so-called ‘back to work’ budget.

The government had already set a target for the national living wage to reach two-thirds of median hourly pay by October next year, estimated at around £11.16.

Hunt is expected to say: “Today I want to complete another great Conservative reform, the national living wage.

“We promised in our manifesto to raise the national living wage to two-thirds of median income – ending low pay in this country.

“At the moment it is £10.42 an hour and we are waiting for the Low Pay Commission to confirm its recommendation for next year.

“But I confirm today, whatever that recommendation, we will increase it next year to at least £11 an hour.”

The Chancellor will describe the policy as “a pay rise for over 2m workers” and add: “The wages of the lowest paid are over £9,000 a year higher than they were in 2010 – because if you work hard, a Conservative government will always have your back.”

He will also warn things have gone in the “wrong direction” since the pandemic with people out of work, with ministers facing ongoing concerns about getting Brits back into jobs.

Hunt and work and pensions secretary Mel Stride are expected to use the autumn statement to outline a bid to make it harder to claim benefits without taking “active” steps towards work.

The Chancellor will say: “Whilst companies struggle to find workers, around 100,000 people are leaving the labour force every year for a life on benefits.

“As part of that we will look at the way the sanctions regime works. It is a fundamental matter of fairness.

“Those who won’t even look for work do not deserve the same benefits as people trying hard to do the right thing.”

With Press Association, Dominic McGrath