§ Jim DobbinTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans the Government have to commission data on the gender pay gap in Heywood and Middleton constituency. [48634]
§ Alan JohnsonThe Office for National Statistics publishes data on the gender pay gap in the New Earnings Survey. However, in the case of the Heywood and Middleton Constituency, the data is not sufficiently reliable for publication.
Current trends in women's individual incomes have been explored in two studies published last year by the Women and Equality Unit (WEU). Copies of these reports are available on the WEU website (http://www.womenandequalityunit.gov.uk/research/publications/research-and-publications.htm).
WEU Gender Briefing, which provides statistical briefing on the position of women compared with men in the labour market, is also available on the website (http://www.womenandequalityunit.gov.uk/research/gender-briefing/home.htm).
There are no plans to commission further research into the gender pay gap in Heywood and Middleton.