Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the survey research by the Trade Unions Congress, published on 19 March, which found that one in three black and minority ethnic workers say they have been unfairly turned down for a job; and what plans they have to introduce mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting.

The Government is aware of the TUC research which found that a third (33%) of ethnic minority workers say they have been unfairly turned down for a job compared to one in 5 (19%) of white workers. The Government is clear that no one should be discriminated against because of their ethnicity and the Equality Act 2010 makes such discrimination unlawful.

The Government is committed to building a fairer Britain and ensuring that equality and opportunity is available for all. That is why my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister established the independent Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities which published its independent report on March 31st.

The report includes a specific recommendation in relation to ethnicity pay reporting. We welcome the opportunity to consider the Commission’s findings in relation to this issue,
and are looking at them in light of the work that has already taken place within government, including the consultation on ethnicity pay reporting. We will be publishing our response to the Commission’s report later this summer.