Gender Pay Gap

Lord Davies of Brixton Excerpts

Tuesday 23rd November 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

The gender pay gap is something that the Government take very seriously. The point that the noble Baroness makes about flexible working and working from home, and the impact that those have on women in particular, is well noted. Flexible working is wide-ranging and includes part time and flexitime, and it can be crucial for opening up opportunities, particularly for women. I cannot give a categorical answer about what we will do other than to say that we are mindful of this in everything we do in the Government Equalities Office. It may be that I come back to the noble Baroness with a bit more detail.

[Lord Davies of Brixton (Lab)]

My Lords, my supplementary question handily spans both parts of the Minister’s multitasking portfolio—an opportunity too good to miss, and a sort of birthday present. Will the Minister acknowledge that one of the biggest consequences of the gender pay gap is the gender pensions gap? Can she therefore outline what steps the Government are taking to address that specific dimension of the problem? When will action be taken to address the acknowledged shortcomings in the benefits that accrued from automatic enrolment for the many women on low pay in broken employment?

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

I thank the noble Lord for that wonderful birthday present. Let me just say that auto-enrolment has been a fantastic success, and we want that to continue. On the point he raises about net pay and the pensions gap, the Government are absolutely going to rectify the anomaly. We published a call for evidence. The Government will pay a top-up to low earners, making contributions to pensions schemes using a net pay arrangement, from 2024-25 onwards.