Will minimum wage rise help NI families?

Ahead of the Chancellor setting out his Budget where personal tax cuts are expected, one thing we do know is minimum wage is going up in April.

That will mean a pay rise for millions of workers across the UK and the amount you get depends on your age.

From 1 April, employees aged 21 and over will be entitled to the National Living Wage. At the moment you have to be 23 to qualify.

The rate will be £11.44 an hour, up from £10.42.

Twenty-one-year-old Louise O'Hare is a full-time nursery assistant in Belfast.

'I'm left with 25% to live on'

"A pay increase is always welcome and it is greatly appreciated but with the cost of everything else going up, it does make you think will it make a difference, will I be better off or will I continue to just break even?"

"With the pay that I'm getting, I'm still only left with about 25% to live on for groceries, petrol and other essentials after bills, like rent," she told BBC News NI.

"As everyone knows rent, gas, petrol, everything has been going up, so with my pay going up it will probably only meet the increase," she added.

'Carers, nurses and friends'

From 1 April, the National Minimum Wage will apply to younger employees between school leaving age (16) and 20.

If you are 16 or 17, the National Minimum Wage will be £6.40 an hour, up from £5.28

If you are 18, 19 or 20, the National Minimum Wage will be £8.60, up from £7.49

The government says this is the largest ever cash increase to the minimum wage.

Louise says she thinks the level of pay should reflect how hard she works.

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"On a daily basis we're a carer, we're a nurse, we're a friend, we're a comfort, we are everything that a child needs to thrive.

"We are with them Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm most children - some children from 7am come into us so we are everything that a child needs to learn and grow in a caring environment."

Sarah Ferguson says the price of running a nursery has gone up

Sarah Ferguson is the manager at the same nursery.

She said staff wages account for about 80% of their running costs and the rise in minimum wage means they are having to increase the fees they are charging parents from April by 5%.

"It's a lot of pressure to try and meet all the different costs whilst also trying to create a high quality environment for the children and for the parents having to pay extortionate fees you want to provide the best care possible, not the bare minimum."

She said wage levels are causing a recruitment crisis across the early years sector.

"We've only increased our fees to match the costs, even with the increase in fees it's not meeting the costs over the next financial year we are having to absorb a lot of it."

Medbh Hillyard, with son Rowan

The rise in fees will hit parents like Medbh Hillyard, a mum of three, whose son Rowan is in the nursery.

She said: "It's really eye-watering, it's the biggest expense that we have. It's bigger than our mortgage. Every month when the bill comes in, I dread it, it really clears out the bank account.

"As a parent, I fully support the increase in the minimum wage and I know the staff here do a fantastic job, but it is worrying for parents. We are already paying for a full-time place just over £1,000 and we've already had an increase this year."

She said it's a "hot topic" at the school gates.

"We've seen other settings that haven't been able to continue, there's a huge demand for childcare in Belfast and if settings are beginning to close you'll have large numbers of families that don't even have places so it is really, really worrying."