Written questions by Gill.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of using the Government Statistical Service categories in the Government's response to the consultation on ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting on the risk of legal challenge relating to the inclusion of Sikhs and Jews as distinct ethnicity options.

Public bodies usually collect ethnicity data in line with the ethnicity harmonised standard, which is developed by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The current harmonised standard for ethnicity data does not include specific “Sikh” and “Jewish” categories for a person’s ethnic group. However, the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which is independent of government, is currently running a public consultation which seeks to review the harmonised standard to ensure it meets the needs of both data users and respondents. The views of Sikh and Jewish communities are being carefully considered as part of the review. We will monitor its progress and consider its findings closely. We published the government response to the consultation on mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting on 25 March. The majority of respondents (77%) agreed with the proposal in the consultation that large employers should collect ethnicity data using the GSS harmonised standards for ethnicity. The legislation being developed will provide flexibility if the list of ethnicity classifications of the harmonised standard is updated following the review.

Whether Gender Pay Gap Reporting will use biological sex.

We recognise that the terms “male”, “female”, “men” and “women” in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a person’s biological sex, and that this has implications for the guidance provided on gender pay gap reporting. As currently set out on the “Preparing your data” guidance page, we are reviewing the relevant section of this guidance to ensure it is accurate. Further updates on this will be provided shortly.

When she plans to respond to the Equality (Race and Disability) Bill: mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting consultation which closed on 10 June 2025.

As set out in our manifesto and in the King’s Speech in July 2024, the government is committed to introducing mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting for large employers. Ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting will provide transparency to help employers identify and reduce pay inequalities. Good progress has been made in developing the policy and legislative approach to ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting following the public consultation last year. We will publish the government response to the ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting consultation soon.

How the recommendation from the Sullivan Review that 'sex' rather than 'gender' should be the default question when collecting data will be implemented across government and the ONS.

The Government recognises the importance of collecting accurate and relevant data on sex. The Sullivan Review, commissioned by the previous administration and published in March, made a number of recommendations to improve sex and gender identity data collection. Individual departments are considering these recommendations as part of their ongoing policy work.Currently, there is no harmonised standard for sex data. The Government Statistical Service (GSS) harmonisation team in the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has a work programme to develop harmonised data standards on sex and gender identity. This includes extensive engagement with users to understand needs. This work will help improve, and standardise, how to collect sex and gender identity data across government and the ONS in future.

If she will make representations to the ONS on including (a) Sikhs and (b) Jews in their advice to public bodies on using ethnicity categories.

Public bodies usually collect ethnicity data in line with the ethnicity harmonised standard, which is developed by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).The current harmonised standard is based on the 2011 Census questions used across the UK; those questions were updated for the 2021 and 2022 Censuses. The current standard does not include specific “Sikh” and “Jewish” categories for a person’s ethnic group.The ONS, which is independent of government, is reviewing the harmonised standard to ensure this remains appropriate and meets the needs of both data users and respondents. This will include a public consultation later this year.We await the outcome of this review.

If she will ask the Office for National Statistics to change its policy that recommends excluding Jews and Sikhs from data collected on ethnicity in its ethnicity harmonised standard.

Public bodies usually collect ethnicity data in line with the ethnicity harmonised standard, which is developed by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).The current harmonised standard is based on the 2011 Census questions used across the UK; those questions were updated for the 2021 and 2022 Censuses. The current standard does not include specific “Sikh” and “Jewish” categories for a person’s ethnic group.The ONS, which is independent of government, is reviewing the harmonised standard to ensure this remains appropriate and meets the needs of both data users and respondents. This will include a public consultation later this year.We await the outcome of this review.

If she will ask the Office for National Statistics to update the ethnicity harmonised standard to include a tick box option for (a) Jews and (b) Sikhs.

Public bodies usually collect ethnicity data in line with the ethnicity harmonised standard, which is developed by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).The current harmonised standard is based on the 2011 Census questions used across the UK; those questions were updated for the 2021 and 2022 Censuses. The current standard does not include specific “Sikh” and “Jewish” categories for a person’s ethnic group.The ONS, which is independent of government, is reviewing the harmonised standard to ensure this remains appropriate and meets the needs of both data users and respondents. This will include a public consultation later this year.We await the outcome of this review.

If she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the Office for National Statistics not requiring public bodies to collect data on ethnicity for (a) Jews and (b) Sikhs.

Public bodies usually collect ethnicity data in line with the ethnicity harmonised standard, which is developed by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).The current harmonised standard is based on the 2011 Census questions used across the UK; those questions were updated for the 2021 and 2022 Censuses. The current standard does not include specific “Sikh” and “Jewish” categories for a person’s ethnic group.The ONS, which is independent of government, is reviewing the harmonised standard to ensure this remains appropriate and meets the needs of both data users and respondents. This will include a public consultation later this year.We await the outcome of this review.

How many people are employed in the Race Equality Unit; and if she will publish the number of employees by ethnic group.

The Race Equality Unit currently employs 9 people. Due to the number of employees within the Race Equality Unit being below 10 we are unable to publish the ethnic group information as it would enable individuals to be identified.

How many people are employed in the Race Equality Unit; and how many of those people identify to each religious group.

The Race Equality Unit currently employs 9 people. Due to the number of employees within the Race Equality Unit being below 10 we are unable to publish the ethnic group information as it would enable individuals to be identified.

What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help improve women's health.

I would like to thank my Hon. Friend for her continued interest in women’s health.Women’s health is a priority for this government, and we are considering how to take forward the Women’s Health Strategy.Work continues to improve health outcomes for women, for example through the £25 million women’s health hubs pilot, and recent extension of the Baby Loss Certificate Service to all historic losses.