Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of equal pay legislation and case law on levels of industrial action in local authorities.

As set out in the King’s Speech in July, the government is committed to making the right to equal pay effective for ethnic minority and disabled people. This measure will be part of the upcoming Equality (Race and Disability) Bill.

In delivering this commitment, we are giving close consideration on how to make the equal pay scheme work better for everyone. This will include any potential impact of changes to the equal pay scheme on local authorities.

To understand the challenges and find the appropriate solutions in developing this policy, we launched a 12 week call for evidence on a number of areas of equality law on April 7, which will close on 30 June.