The National Statistician granted exceptional pre-release access to hourly pay data from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), which were published on 29 October 2024.
The exceptional pre-release access was granted to facilitate the setting of the 2025 National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW) rates, announced as part of the Budget on 30 October 2024.
The ASHE data were shared with individuals from the Low Pay Commission to inform their recommendations around the NMW and NLW rates for 2025. The recommended rates for 2025 were then shared with individuals in the following government departments on Friday 25 October 2024:
Department for Business and Trade
HM Treasury
Cabinet Office
Home Office
Ministry of Justice
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Department for Work and Pensions
Department for Education
However, these individuals did not have access to the underlying ASHE data used to inform the NMW and NLW rates.
Access prior to publication is in line with the rules and principles on pre-release access set out in the relevant UK legislation.