Trade and industry secretary Patricia Hewitt has announced that 16 and 17-year-olds will, for the first time, be brought under the protection of the national minimum wage from October this year.

Government Response: Department of Trade and Industry

Trade secretary Patricia Hewitt said: "The minimum wage is a policy to be proud of.  In the five years since its introduction a million low-paid workers have enjoyed significant increases in their wage packets each and every year.

"Today's announcement means 1.6 million workers will benefit from an hourly rate of £4.85 while young people between 16 and 17 will be given protection from exploitation for the first time.

"Our first priority is to encourage young people to remain in full time education or training. This is why we are offering extra support and incentives through education maintenance allowances from September.

"But where young people choose work without training we have a clear duty to protect them from exploitative rates of pay.

"We do not want to discourage employers from offering training places, which is why apprentices are excluded from the new youth rate.

"However, the government believes that there is a good case for improving the financial support available to apprentices and we expect to be able to make an announcement on this shortly."

Party Response: Conservatives

Oliver Letwin shadow chancellor, said: "It is essential people are not priced out of jobs. So far the minimum wage has avoided doing this. I hope this remains the case and that the government has thought out the latest changes sufficiently well."

Party Response: Liberal Democrats

Matthew Green MP, Liberal Democrat youth spokesman, said: "This step is long overdue but the rate remains too low. It is unjust when a 17-year-old, a 20-year-old and a 22-year-old are all doing exactly the same job but being paid different wages.

"This is a small first step forward- but the government needs to indicate that over the next few years it will be raising the rate in order to catch up with the full minimum wage."

Forum Response: British Youth Council

Blossom Young, British Youth Council chair, said: "BYC welcomes the government's decision to introduce a minimum wage for 16-17 year olds. However, what we're calling for is equal pay for equal work, a fair and decent minimum wage for 16 and 17-year-olds, not a new wage rate that is so low, it leaves them open to further exploitation."

Forum Response: British Retail Consortium

A spokesman for the BRC said: "We are relieved that the government has not set the level for the adult minimum wage above £4.85, as feared last week. However, this rate is not a surprise to the BRC, as we have felt for some time that this would be the level introduced on October 1, 2004. The industry will face a great deal of pressure, particularly on wage differentials, resulting in retailers having to make a plethora of difficult choices in order to reduce costs.

"We welcome the 16-17-year-old wage level being set at £3.00. Retailers recognise the value that this age group can bring to their companies, from their willingness to work flexible hours to providing the desired image for their products and this level will encourage investment in young staff. However, the mechanism and rates for future increases and the frequency of its review will be crucial in determining the impact of this wage in the future."

Forum Response: Usdaw

Sir Bill Connor, Usdaw general secretary, said: "This is tremendous news - and long overdue. This will give young people a sense of feeling valued in society, rather than being left vulnerable to exploitation by unscrupulous employers. With an increasingly ageing population, it is important that young people get a good rate of pay. This is a cautious first step - we will be pressing the Low Pay Commission to bring the rate up to at least 80 per cent of the development rate that is currently given to workers aged 18 to 21."

Forum Response: National Youth Agency

Stephen Dain, spokesman for the National Youth Agency told ePolitix.com: "The NYA fully supports the BYC's call for a fair and decent minimum wage for 16 and 17 year-olds. Young people in this age range often fill similar roles to those above the age of 18 but, while the older group are protected by legislation and a national minimum wage, the arguably more vulnerable 16 and 17 year-olds do not. The NYA is also concerned that the lack of a minimum wage, and hence the low remuneration, may force young people in this age group to work longer hours at a time in their lives when their personal and social development should be paramount."