Income inequality must be at heart of levelling up, former Archbishop of York John Sentamu tells peers

The former Archbishop of York has challenged Ministers to put the issue of “income inequality” at the heart of their much-vaunted levelling up agenda.

John Sentamu spoke out in the House of Lords where he asked if there were any new plans to increase the National Living Wage to take account of inflation which now exceeds five per cent as the cost of living crisis grows.

Business Minister Lord Callanan responded by saying that the Government will increase the national living wage by 6.6 per cent to £9.50 on April 1.

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“Following this increase, the annual earnings of a full-time worker on the national living wage will have increased by around £5,000 since 2015,” he added.

Dr John Sentmau, the former Archbishop of YorkDr John Sentmau, the former Archbishop of York
Dr John Sentmau, the former Archbishop of York

“The Government are committed to further increasing the national living wage in line with their manifesto commitment to equal two-thirds of median earnings by 2024, and we are on track to achieve this ambitious target.”

But this did not satisfy Lord Sentamu who chairs the Living Wage Commission.

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In response Lord Callanan said that the Government was “proud” of its record on low pay and takes account of “all the various issues: what is affordable for business, rates of inflation, etc”.

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The Government had been due to publish its long-overdue Levelling Up White Paper this month. The strategy is now expected to be unveiled in February.

Lord Sentamu’s intervention came on the day that the York-based Joseph Rowntree Foundation warned that households on low incomes will be spending on average 18 per cent of their income after housing costs on energy bills as a result of the surge in prices.

Katie Schmuecker, Deputy Director of Policy and Partnerships at JRF, said: “No childhood should be defined by a daily struggle to afford the basics. But the reality is that many children growing up today won’t have known anything else. The fact that more children are in poverty and sinking deeper into poverty should shame us all.”

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