Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what enforcement activity the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has undertaken of the regulations under Part 5 of the Equality Act 2010 to prevent differential pay rates for seafarers from countries in the European Economic Area since 1 August 2011.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency is not responsible for the enforcement of regulations made under Part 5 of the Equality Act 2010, and has therefore not undertaken any enforcement or investigations, or any activity to ensure compliance with or assess the effectiveness of these regulations. This is a matter for the Government Equality Office.

The Department for Transport is undertaking a review of the Regulations in conjunction with other government departments, trade associations and union representatives. This will include looking at whether the Regulations are achieving their objectives – including those relevant to differential pay.