Jeremy Hunt has announced the national living wage is set to rise by 92p to £10.42 an hour next year.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer revealed during his Autumn Statement in the House of Commons earlier today that Scots over 23 will see their wages rise from £9.50 by April 2023.
At present the minimum wage is £9.50 for over-23s, £9.18 for 21 and 22 year olds, £6.83 for 18 to 20 year olds and £4.81 for under 18s and apprentices.
The increase of 9.7 per cent is meant to ease some of the pressure on households brought on by soaring inflation, which hit a 41-year high last month at 11.1 per cent.
Despite increasing the minimum wage Hunt has announced the National Insurance threshold has been frozen for an additional two years to April 2028. It means as wages increase more people will be dragging into higher bands of tax.
Why is everything more expensive?
Covid-19 has hit global supply chains with a combination of pent-up demand and delays to shipping as factories across the world face lockdowns and worker absences. This has led to prices rising, particularly for raw materials.
Food prices have also risen as wages increase, including for HGV drivers due to recent shortages, with thousands of drivers leaving the UK to return to their home countries in the EU.
Pressure on food and energy prices is being exacerbated as the full impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the sanctions against President Vladimir Putin's regime unfold.
Gas and oil prices have been supercharged by the sudden reduction in supply from Russia, one of the world's biggest exporters for the energy sector.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation has projected that the conflict will lead to a rise in global food prices in 2022 of between 8 per cent and 22 per cent.
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