§ Mr. DenhamTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the pay gap between men and women employed by her Department and its agencies in(a) Southampton, (b) Eastleigh, (c) Winchester and (d) Romsey. [171633]
§ Alun MichaelIn response to the Equal Opportunities Task Force report "Just Pay", the Government committed all departments and agencies to undertake an equal pay review by April 2003 and to prepare action plans to close any equal pay gaps. Consequently, an equal pay audit of the Core Defra, Pesticides Safety Directorate and Veterinary Medicines Directorate pay system was carried out, the results of which revealed that there were no significant inequalities in pay for staff in these locations. There are 17 Core-Defra staff employed in offices in Southampton and Winchester.
Of my Department's other agencies, only the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA) and the Central Science Laboratory (CSL) have staff in these locations. The VLA has 33 staff and CSL has three staff based in or near Winchester. Both agencies have carried out equal pay audits of their pay systems. The CSL audit did not identify any pay inequalities. The Chief Executive of the VLA will reply to the hon. Member separately.