Overview

• Government has formally broadened the commission’s remit to factor in cost-of-living pressures and consult on eliminating wage tiers for 18-20-year-olds in pursuit of a single adult rate.
• The commission projects the national living wage could rise about 4.1 percent to £12.71 an hour in April 2026, with a potential range between £12.55 and £12.86 depending on economic conditions.
• Ministers have tasked the advisory body to engage employers, trade unions and workers in gathering evidence before it makes final recommendations in October.
• Labour casts the remit expansion as central to its Plan for Change for restoring real incomes and preserving Britain’s wage competitiveness.
• Hospitality and other business groups warn that further minimum wage rises risk pricing young workers out of entry-level roles by adding to already heightened labour costs.