§ Mr. EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the pay differential between Wales and the rest of the UK in the last 12 months. [82200]
§ Peter HainBased on the latest figures available (from the New Earnings Survey, April 2001—April 2002), the average personal salary in Wales is £20,784.40 (£399.70 p.w). The Office for National Statistics publishes figures for GB rather than the UK. The corresponding figure for GB as a whole is £24,164.40 (464.70 p/w). Expressed as a differential, the average Welsh salary is 13.99 per cent. lower than the average salary for GB as a whole.