For the first time ever 100% of UK employers identified as being in scope of gender pay gap regulations have published their data.

The UK is one of the few countries in the world to require employers to publish such comprehensive gender pay gap data.

Under new regulations that came into force in April 2017, all employers with over 250 employees are required to report their gender pay gap data. All 10,000 UK employers that the Government has identified as having over 250 workers have now published their data.

The data has shown that more than three out of four in scope UK companies pay their male staff more on average than their female staff, more than half give higher bonuses to men, on average, than women, and over 80% have more women in their lowest paid positions than in their highest paid positions.

The Government Equalities Office has also published today [Wednesday 1 August] a new ‘What Works’ guidance for companies to help them improve the recruitment and progression of women and close their gender pay gap.

Minister for Women and Equalities, Penny Mordaunt, said:

It is appalling that in the twenty-first century there is still a big difference between the average earnings of men and women.

While I am encouraged that over 10,000 employers have published their data, these figures set out in real terms for the first time some of the challenges and the scale of this issue.

We need to take action to ensure businesses know how they can make use of their best talent and make their gender pay gaps a thing of the past.

Sheila Flavell, Chief Operating Officer, FDM Group, a global professional services provider with a focus on IT, said:

At FDM diversity and equality have always been our core values and we are proud once again to report a zero per cent gender pay gap for the second year in a row.

Achieving this required a huge effort at all levels of the organisation, including major initiatives such as our women returners and graduate recruitment programmes which help women train and enter the world of technology. We also had honest conversations about senior pay, job roles and increased opportunities for introduced flexible working initiatives to ensure strong representation of women at the top of the company.

Fiona Dawson, Global President of Mars Food, said:

Delighted to see the launch of the Government Equalities Office, ‘What Works’ guidance and to see that the evidence based recommendations within it echo so many of those made by the Women’s Business Council particularly in relation to the importance of flexible, agile and dynamic working.

The gender pay gap regulations and first year of reporting has focused the attention of the businesses community and its leaders on understanding the causes behind their organisations, and sector’s, gender gaps and the importance of putting into place practical solutions and actions to tackle their causes. Supportive guidance such as this document and best practice case studies of what has worked are vital for organisations to now take the next step in ensuring their staff have the same access to opportunity regardless of their gender.

Equality and Human Rights Commission Chief Executive, Rebecca Hilsenrath, said:

Building on the work by the Government Equalities Office, our enforcement approach has proved to be successful, resulting in full compliance by all those considered to be in scope.

We have been clear that it is not only the right thing to do but that we would use all our enforcement powers where employers failed to report. They have taken our warnings seriously and avoided costly court action. We will now be turning our attention to the accuracy of reporting.

The ‘What Works’ advice to employers published by the Government Equalities Office today includes recommendations to:

• Assess candidates based on actual tasks they would be expected to perform in their role, and make interviews more structured to avoid unfair bias creeping in.
• Encourage salary negotiation by showing salary ranges, as women are currently less likely to negotiate their pay than men.
• Introduce transparency to pay, promotion and reward processes.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

• The ‘What Works’ guidance was produced in partnership with the Behavioural Insights Team.
• The guidance, including details of all of the research evidence, has been published on the gender pay gap website, https://gender-pay-gap.service.gov.uk/
• For more information please contact the GEO press office on 0207 023 0600.
• Sheila Flavell, Chief Operating Officer, FDM Group, also said:

The gender pay gap reporting process has been an incredibly positive initiative for UK companies, elevating a vital issue to the top of the boardroom agenda and forcing business leaders to face up to the extent of the problem.

Whilst in some cases the reporting has shown major pay discrepancies in companies, it’s important to recognise that tackling this issue is no easy task. These businesses should be judged on the plans and promises they put in place to reduce the gap, and the willingness shown to make change happen.

• Fiona Dawson, Global President of Mars Food, also said:

Last year Mars partnered with the Women’s Business Council to create ‘The Pipeline Effect’, a toolkit enabling gender parity beyond middle management where the gender gaps within most sectors dramatically increase.

In the toolkit we’ve identified three primary obstacles to women’s mid-career progression. The visibility of relatable role-models, the need for supportive line management and most importantly the access to flexible, dynamic and agile working patterns.

In Mars we’ve embraced this by rolling out multi-level sponsorship and mentoring programmes to support more women into senior leadership positions.

This is supported by our in depth line manager training which ensures our family friendly policies including parental leave and flexible working are applied consistently across the business and ensures all employees hold authentic conversations with their managers allowing our male and female associates to enjoy balanced lives with thriving families and careers.

At the recent United States-Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) Summit, President Trump and Kim Jong Un signed the Sentosa Agreement, which included a commitment to recover remains from the DPRK and return them to the US, where they will be identified.

The remains may include UK casualties and the DNA samples will be used to support identification, over a number of years, to make sure any UK personnel identified are ultimately given military funerals at the United Nations cemetery in the Republic of Korea. The MOD also intend to cover costs for immediate family members to attend.

UK personnel fought during the Korean War as part of the United Nations Command (UNC). The three-year conflict between 1950 and 1953 led to the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives from Korea, China and the UNC.

Family members of those missing personnel who have no known grave are asked to call the Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre on 01452 854622/855258.

The Rt Hon Sir Brian Leveson, President of the Queen’s Bench Division, and former Parole Board member, gave a speech, “Parole: 50 years and Counting”, at the Parole Board members’ Strategy Day on 18 July 2018.

This speech was to bring to a close the series of events marking the 50th Anniversary of the Parole Board.

The Charity Commission has today announced the appointment of an interim manager to Capricorn Animal Rescue and Sanctuary (inc. Aston, Hawarden Animal Aid) due to continued concerns about the governance and management of the charity.

Interim managers are appointed to take over the running of a charity where the Commission has identified misconduct or mismanagement, or there is a need to protect the charity’s property.

The Commission opened a statutory inquiry into Capricorn Animal Rescue and Sanctuary on 9 February 2017 to examine regulatory concerns about the governance of the charity, potential unauthorised trustee benefit, and whether the trustees have properly exercised their responsibilities under charity law – particularly their duty to account for the charity’s funds.

The Commission made an order under Section 76 (3)(g) of the Charities Act 2011 on 30 July 2018 to appoint Guy Hollander of Mazars as interim manager to the exclusion of the trustees.

He will take on full control of the day-to-day management and administration of the charity from the current trustee until the Commission makes a further order.

Harvey Grenville, Head of Investigations and Enforcement at the Charity Commission said:

We are not satisfied that the current governance procedures and practices are working properly, or are likely to be rectified by the trustees. A decision by the Charity Commission to appoint an interim manager is not taken lightly and reflects the seriousness of our regulatory concerns.

Part of the interim manager’s duties will be to establish the viability of the charity and determine the most appropriate option regarding its future.

The Commission’s investigation continues.

Ends

1. This appointment is a temporary and protective power that will be reviewed at regular intervals. It will continue until the Commission makes a further Order for its variation or discharge.
2. The Commission is aware that the charity has been the subject of concerns from members of the public relating to the welfare of animals in the charity’s care; this does not fall within the Commission’s remit and concerns on this matter should be directed to the RSPCA. Their 24-hour cruelty and advice line can be reached at 0300 1234 999.
3. It is the Commission’s policy, after it has concluded an inquiry, to publish a report detailing what issues the inquiry looked at, what actions were undertaken as part of the inquiry and what the outcomes were. Reports of previous inquiries are available on GOV.UK.
4. The Charity Commission is the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales. For more information see the about us page on GOV.UK.
5. Search for charities on our online register.

An investment to better support early years education and child development spearheads a range of initiatives announced today to halve the number of children finishing reception year without the early communication or reading skills they need by 2028.

Latest research shows more than a quarter of four-and-five-year-olds (28 per cent) lacked the early communication and literacy skills expected by the end of reception year. The ‘expected level’ includes, for example, a child being able to express themselves clearly and read simple sentences.

In a speech to the Resolution Foundation, Education Secretary Damian Hinds set out his ambition to halve this number through a range of measures and a new coalition of organisations to look at ways of supporting parents with helping children learn new words and develop their communication skills.

He also unveiled details of a £30 million fund, part of an investment announced in the government’s social mobility action plan, to create more nursery places run by successful schools in disadvantaged areas so more children can access a high-quality early education. This fulfils a government manifesto pledge to help primary schools develop nurseries where they do not currently have the facilities to do so.

Schools will be invited to run projects that demonstrate innovative approaches to closing the attainment gap between disadvantaged children and their more affluent peers, with a focus on creating partnerships between schools and councils, Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs), or charities.

Alongside this another £20 million will be spent on training and professional development for early years staff in disadvantaged areas to increase their ability to support children’s early speech and language development. This work will drive up standards in the pre-school years, so more children arrive at school with the foundations in place to make the most of primary school.

On top of the new ambition and investment in early years provision, the Education Secretary announced other measures to improve social mobility:

• the Office for Students will look at how universities – particularly the most elite – can reach out to children from different backgrounds;
• a new data project building on Raj Chetty’s world-renowned work mapping social mobility in America, linking education and income data and breaking it down by region to directly show the impact of education on future earning prospects. The data will provide a map and measure of social mobility and help target interventions more effectively;
• a departmental review of non-GCSE qualifications for 14 to 16 year olds to make sure the courses on offer to students are of high quality; and
• new research by the Social Mobility Commission looking at the impact of extra-curricular activities on social mobility. This will help ensure the most effective practices are scaled up and targeted at the areas that need them most.

In his speech, Education Secretary Damian Hinds said:

We need a country that works for everyone – because what is progress for our society, if we’re not doing more for the people who start out with the biggest disadvantages? A strong society, a strong economy, does not leave people behind.

It’s time to raise our ambitions, to expect more and to expect better for every child, whatever their background – and to build a country where everyone can make the most of themselves.

During the speech Mr Hinds set out his ‘Seven Key Truths’ that drive better outcomes for children by giving them the support, skills and character building experiences that will unlock their potential.

These include:

• the early learning from birth to age three;
• a good school education;
• high-quality teaching;
• making more extracurricular activities available;
• increasing access for university;
• second chances later in life; and
• developing resilience and emotional wellbeing.