Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many contraventions of the regulations under Part 5 of the Equality Act 2010 preventing differential pay rates for seafarers from countries in the European Economic Area have been investigated by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency since 1 August 2011; and what the (a) outcome and (b) flag of each vessel was in each such investigation.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency is not responsible for the enforcement of regulations made under Part 5 of the Equality Act 2010, and has therefore not undertaken any enforcement or investigations, or any activity to ensure compliance with or assess the effectiveness of these regulations. This is a matter for the Government Equality Office.

The Department for Transport is undertaking a review of the Regulations in conjunction with other government departments, trade associations and union representatives. This will include looking at whether the Regulations are achieving their objectives – including those relevant to differential pay.