Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the statistical validity of ethnicity pay reporting in small sample sizes, in the context of the Equality (Race and Disability) Bill.

It is important that ethnicity pay gap reporting by employers is accurate and statistically valid.

The public consultation on mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting seeks views on the proposed approach, including questions about data collection, reporting and minimum sample size. The proposed minimum of 10 employees is intended to protect the privacy of employees and to produce statistically robust data.

We are also engaging with a wide range of organisations and specialists, including employers who are already reporting, to understand the challenges of data collection.

The findings from the consultation will inform the development of measures in the draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill.