The Chancellor, John Healey, will raise the National Living Wage for over-21s by about 3.9% in Wednesday's Budget, from £12.71 to around £13.20 an hour, the Times reports. A Treasury spokesman declined to comment.
According to the Times, the rate for 18 to 20-year-olds will rise by the same 3.9%, from £10.85 to about £11.27 an hour. That would end the run of faster rises for younger workers towards Labour's manifesto pledge to scrap 'discriminatory' age bands. The youth rate rose 8.5% this year, according to PA copy carried by AOL.
The reported figures are consistent. A 3.9% rise takes £12.71 to just over £13.20 and £10.85 to just under £11.27. The gap between the two rates is £1.86 an hour now. On the reported figures it would widen slightly in cash terms, to about £1.93.
LBC says Healey is expected to say he has accepted the Low Pay Commission's recommendations. It adds that the Commission indicated in March an over-21 rise of up to 5% in 2027.
The TUC says 85% of young workers are already paid above the youth rate.