Written questions by Joseph.

If her Department will publish a timeline for the introduction of mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting.

As set out in the King’s Speech in July, the government is committed to introducing mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting for large employers. These measures will be part of the upcoming Equality (Race and Disability) Bill, which will be published in draft in this parliamentary session We will shortly be consulting on our proposals to help us shape the legislation and will announce further details on timing in due course.

Whether she plans to have discussions with EU counterparts on the introduction of the EU Pay Transparency Directive as part of the Government's plans to consult on the draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill.

This Government is committed to building on the historic achievements of the Equal Pay Act 1970 and Equality Act 2010 and tackle pay discrimination. The Equality (Race and Disability) Bill will introduce mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting for large employers and extend the right to make equal pay claims to ethnic minority and disabled people. Additionally, as set out in the Plan to Make Work Pay, we will put in place measures to ensure that outsourcing of services can no longer be used by employers to avoid paying equal pay and improve enforcement by establishing an Equal Pay Regulatory and Enforcement Unit. These changes will strengthen and expand the existing legislative framework.We are also committed to protecting the ability to draw on equal pay comparators where workers' terms and conditions can be attributed to a single source, ensuring those provisions that were previously derived from EU law remain enshrined in UK law.