Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of introducing compulsory ethnicity pay gap reporting.

This Government remains committed to tackling all areas of disparities in this country, including in employment. It is crucial that everyone is treated fairly in the workplace, so that they can thrive and reach their full potential and we want to ensure that everyone has access to the same employment opportunities.

Ethnicity pay gap reporting is just one type of tool to assist employers in doing this and it may not always be the most appropriate mechanism for some types of organisation. Therefore, as set out in the “Inclusive Britain” report published in March 2022, the Government will not be legislating to make ethnicity pay reporting mandatory at this stage. Instead we have produced guidance to support those who wish to report voluntarily.  This was published earlier this month.