To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what her most recent estimate is of the ratio of female to male earnings in the North West. (314507)

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated 29 January 2010:

As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what the latest estimate is of the ratio of female to male earnings in the North West. (314507)

Levels of earnings are estimated from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), and are provided for all employees on adult rates of pay, whose pay for the survey period was not affected by absence. The ASHE, carried out in April each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom.

I attach a table showing the ratio of female to male earnings in 2009 for median hourly earnings excluding overtime for all and full-time employees on adult rates of pay, whose pay for the survey period was not affected by absence, in the North West. Estimates of the ratio of female to male earnings for part-time employees are not reliable and are therefore not included.