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1125354

	registered interest
	date	08/05/2019
	answering body	Women and Equalities
	answering dept id	31
	answering dept short name	Women and Equalities
	answering dept sort name	Women and Equalities
	hansard heading	Equal Pay
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, for what reasons the UK has not accepted the obligation under Article 4.3 of the European Social Charter to recognise the right of men and women workers to equal pay for work of equal value.
	tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
	tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
	uin	251971
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/06/2019 answer text <p>The UK Government supports the work of the Council of Europe and continues to support the European Social Charter (1961). Since the European Social Charter came into force in the UK we have introduced a number of policy and legislative reforms that provide equivalent or greater protections for individuals in the field of equal pay.</p><p> </p><p>We have also ratified a number of international conventions which provide equivalent protections and which the UK has implemented via national legislation.</p><p> </p><p>We are fully committed to the Equal Pay protections in the Equality Act 2010. In 2014, we introduced equal pay audits for when employers are found to have breached equal pay law and in 2017 we introduced gender pay gap reporting.</p><p> </p><p>Our equal pay legislation complies with EU requirements, which are reflected in Article 4.3 of the European Social Charter. We are committed to ensure that the robust protections provided by Equality Acts 2006 and 2010 and equivalent legislation in Northern Ireland continue to apply after the UK leaves the EU, as will Article 157 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which will become part of EU-retained law.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 11/06/2019 14:59:14 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1130965

	registered interest
	date	10/06/2019
	answering body	Women and Equalities
	answering dept id	31
	answering dept short name	Women and Equalities
	answering dept sort name	Women and Equalities
	hansard heading	Equal Pay
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will publish the gender pay gap in each UK parliamentary constituency in 2018-19.
	tabling member constituency	Brent Central
	tabling member printed	Dawn Butler
	uin	262296
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/09/2019 answer text <p>The Office for National Statistics publishes gender pay gaps by home parliamentary constituency on an annual basis. These are available online in ‘Home Parliamentary Constituency table’ 10.12, they also publish this data by place of work Parliamentary Constituency:</p><p><a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/annualsurveyofhoursandearningsashegenderpaygaptables" target="_blank">https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/annualsurveyofhoursandearningsashegenderpaygaptables</a></p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 02/09/2019 16:23:08 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	1489 label Biography information for Dawn Butler

1131373

	registered interest
	date	11/06/2019
	answering body	Women and Equalities
	answering dept id	31
	answering dept short name	Women and Equalities
	answering dept sort name	Women and Equalities
	hansard heading	Equal Pay
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, how many Equality and Human Rights Commission staff are responsible for assessing the accuracy of employers’ gender pay gap data.
	tabling member constituency	Brent Central
	tabling member printed	Dawn Butler
	uin	263101
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/09/2019 answer text <p>The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is independent from government and makes its own decisions about the deployment of its staff. My officials have asked the CEO of the EHRC to write directly to the MP with the answer. I will place a copy of the letter in the library.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 30/09/2019 16:49:05 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	1489 label Biography information for Dawn Butler

1131375

	registered interest
	date	11/06/2019
	answering body	Women and Equalities
	answering dept id	31
	answering dept short name	Women and Equalities
	answering dept sort name	Women and Equalities
	hansard heading	Equal Pay
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking to ensure that the Equality and Human Rights Commission assesses the accuracy of the gender pay gap figures filed by employers for the 2018-19 reporting year.
	tabling member constituency	Brent Central
	tabling member printed	Dawn Butler
	uin	263102
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2019 answer text <p>It is an employer’s legal responsibility to ensure that they report on time and that their figures are accurate. The vast majority of the over 10,000 organisations that reported this year have reported their data on time.</p><p> </p><p>In 2018, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) undertook an investigation into 100 employers suspected of publishing inaccurate gender pay gap figures for the 2017/18 reporting year. The EHRC now intends to carry out the same action on employers’ suspected of publishing inaccurate data for the 2018/19 reporting year and will take enforcement action where appropriate.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 23/07/2019 11:29:28 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	1489 label Biography information for Dawn Butler

1138065

	registered interest
	date	10/07/2019
	answering body	Women and Equalities
	answering dept id	31
	answering dept short name	Women and Equalities
	answering dept sort name	Women and Equalities
	hansard heading	Equal Pay
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of obligating all major employers in the UK to publish their gender and ethnicity pay gap data.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
	tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
	uin	275700
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/09/2019 answer text <p>Since introducing regulations in 2017, organisations with 250 or more employees are required to publish gender pay gap data on an annual basis. This has sparked a national conversation, as well as prompting conversations in boardrooms across the country. The unparalleled level of transparency brings to light where inequalities exist, and is inspiring action from employers to bring about change.</p><p> </p><p>The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy have consulted on how best to implement mandatory ethnicity pay reporting, including questions on the main benefits for employers in reporting ethnicity pay information and which employers it should apply to. They received over 300 detailed responses to the consultation and will set out next steps in due course.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 30/09/2019 16:59:07 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1148093

	registered interest
	date	02/10/2019
	answering body	Women and Equalities
	answering dept id	31
	answering dept short name	Women and Equalities
	answering dept sort name	Women and Equalities
	hansard heading	Equal Pay
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans, if any, they have to identify the cause of the gender pay gap.
	tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
	uin	HL18021
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/10/2019 answer text <p>The Government introduced ground-breaking regulations in 2017 requiring large employers to publish gender pay gap data.</p><p> </p><p>We recognise that reporting is just the start; we are committed to ensuring that the UK is an international leader on gender equality research.</p><p> </p><p>This year, we published the Case for Change, an in-depth analysis of how economic gender inequalities develop across people’s lives. In this, we highlight research we published in 2018, led by the University of Manchester, that identified four key drivers of the UK Gender Pay Gap:</p><p> </p><ul><li><p>Occupational segregation - the types of jobs that women tend to do are less well paid than the types of jobs men do.</p></li><li><p>Industrial segregation - the sectors of the economy that women tend to work in are less well paid than the sectors that men work in.</p></li><li><p>Differences in the ways men and women participate in the labour market - women tend to spend more years out of the labour market undertaking unpaid care work than men, and tend to have fewer years of full-time work experience.</p></li><li><p>Other factors that cannot be explained by the data we have, but could include discrimination, harassment, preferences and choices.</p></li></ul><p>To address these drivers, we published the Gender Equality Roadmap in July, setting out the Government’s vision and actions to address the persistent gendered barriers people face across their lives. Furthermore, our new annual Gender Equality Monitor brings together 24 indicators on gender equality from all areas of life to help us better measure progress over time.</p><p>We are also running two research programmes, Women and Gender Equality and Gender and Behavioural Insights, to develop the evidence base on gender equality in the workplace. Findings from this research is being used to identify practical actions for employers and organisations to support women’s progression in the workplace and reduce their gender pay gap.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 07/10/2019 16:39:07 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1167150

	registered interest
	date	29/10/2019
	answering body	Women and Equalities
	answering dept id	31
	answering dept short name	Women and Equalities
	answering dept sort name	Women and Equalities
	hansard heading	Equal Pay
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the employee number threshold over which listed public authorities must report gender pay gaps and publish equal pay statements.
	tabling member constituency	Lanark and Hamilton East
	tabling member printed	Angela Crawley
	uin	7180
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2019 answer text <p>The Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Bodies) regulations introduced mandatory gender pay gap reporting in 2017 to large public sector employers in England and non-devolved authorities. The threshold of 250 employees was determined following a public consultation and mirrors the requirements for employers in the private and voluntary sectors. The employee threshold and other aspects of the reporting metrics is under review to assess their effectiveness in exposing the causes of the pay gap in individual organisations and employers’ progress in tackling them. We will use this evidence to consider changes to the reporting legislation, consulting on any proposed amendments by 2021.</p><p> </p><p>Equal pay statements are not required outside of Scotland and the policy is therefore not subject to review by central Government. However, in 2020 we will review the enforcement of equal pay legislation more broadly, to ensure it is working as effectively as possible.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 04/11/2019 14:36:33 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	4469 label Biography information for Angela Crawley

1167266

	registered interest
	date	29/10/2019
	answering body	Women and Equalities
	answering dept id	31
	answering dept short name	Women and Equalities
	answering dept sort name	Women and Equalities
	hansard heading	Equal Pay
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans, if any, they have to ensure that companies publish their action plans for closing the gender pay gap.
	tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
	uin	HL534
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2019 answer text <p>The Gender Pay Gap among all employees in the UK continues to decline, currently at a record low of 17.3%.</p><p> </p><p>This year, mandatory reporting regulations have seen over 10,000 employers report their gender pay gap for the second time, with around half of all employers in-scope of the regulations publishing action plans.</p><p> </p><p>To close the gap entirely we need a much wider cultural change, which can’t be imposed from above. We strongly encourage all employers to publish action plans, prompting discussions about the drivers of the pay gap in their organisations. To support employers, we have published advice on how to diagnose their gaps and develop an effective action plan, alongside evidence-based guidance on practical actions they can take to close the gap. We actively disseminate this guidance to employers throughout the year to ensure they have the information they need to create an action plan.</p><p> </p><p>This position is kept under review. If we do not think that employers are making enough progress, we will act.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 05/11/2019 13:08:02 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1169313

	registered interest
	date	07/01/2020
	answering body	Women and Equalities
	answering dept id	31
	answering dept short name	Women and Equalities
	answering dept sort name	Women and Equalities
	hansard heading	Equal Pay
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what evaluation has been made of the decision to implement mandatory gender pay gap reporting.
	tabling member printed	Lord Shinkwin
	uin	HL169
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/01/2020 answer text <p>We have had two successful years of gender pay gap reporting so far, with over 10,000 employers publishing their data both years. Reporting provides an unprecedented level of transparency whilst driving board level discussions and pushing employers to take real action to close the gap.</p><p>We are keeping a close eye on progress to ensure that the legislation delivers on its aims, but it is important that we give the new regulations sufficient time to embed, to see how employers are responding and what actions they are taking, before considering any changes.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 13/01/2020 12:39:13 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	4557 label Biography information for Lord Shinkwin

1189704

	registered interest
	date	21/04/2020
	answering body	Women and Equalities
	answering dept id	31
	answering dept short name	Women and Equalities
	answering dept sort name	Women and Equalities
	hansard heading	Equal Pay
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps, if any, they are taking to (1) measure, (2) monitor, and (3) reduce, the (a) gender, (b) ethnicity, (c) disability, and (d) LGBTQ+, pay gap.
	tabling member printed	Lord Shinkwin
	uin	HL3222
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/05/2020 answer text <p>Pay gaps are caused by a range of factors. To address them, we must ensure that everybody has equal access to opportunities.</p><p>In 2017, we introduced mandatory gender pay gap reporting for large employers, providing an unprecedented level of transparency. The gender pay gap is currently at a record low of 17.3%. However, the gap for full-time employees increased slightly to 8.9%. To address the drivers of the gap, we’ve set out a package of commitments aiming to empower women from school right through to retirement.</p><p>The Government ran a consultation from October 2018 to January 2019 on Ethnicity Pay Reporting and received over 300 detailed responses. The Government met with businesses and representative organisations to understand the barriers towards reporting and what information could be published to allow for meaningful action to be taken. We have also run voluntary methodology testing with a broad range of businesses to better understand the complexities outlined in the consultation using real payroll data and will share next steps in due course.</p><p>Calculation and monitoring of disability and LGBT pay gaps raises significant issues of self-reporting and data accuracy and this data is not widely collected by employers. Although we have no plans for data collection of pay for these characteristics, we want to achieve practical changes for disabled people, which remove barriers and increase opportunity. The Government will publish an ambitious ‘National Strategy for Disabled People’. We will ensure that the lived experience of disabled people is at the heart of the new National Strategy and focus on the issues that disabled people say affect them the most.</p><p>The 108,000 respondents to the National LGBT Survey told us that their priority in the workplace is to tackle discrimination. So the Government Equalities Office is exploring the creation of a package of measures to tackle LGBT workplace discrimination. LGBT people should be able to be themselves in the workplace, so that they can do their best work and achieve their full potential.</p><p>Diverse workforces make good business sense. For example, organisations in the top 25% for gender diversity on their executive teams are 21% more likely to have profits above their industry average, and organisations where over 20% of managers are women have been associated with higher performance than organisations with less than 15% representation of women.</p> answering member printed Baroness Berridge grouped question UIN HL3223 HL3224 question first answered 05/05/2020 12:58:03 answering member 4218 label Biography information for Baroness Berridge
	tabling member	4557 label Biography information for Lord Shinkwin