To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (i) to detail the data on the difference in the average pay between all men and women within his Department's workforce; and (ii) what steps his Department is taking to close any gender pay gaps.

(i) According to the latest information available the average salary for male staff in DAERA is £27,845 and for female staff is £28,730: this is a gap of 3.2% in favour of female staff. Across the wider NICS the average pay of female staff is reported 6.4% lower than the average pay for male staff.

(ii) My Department complies with NI Civil Service policies on pay and equality and is supportive of the development and implementation of its Diversity and Inclusion Plan which seeks to ensure fair participation across the NICS. The Civil Service has moved ahead of legislative requirement by voluntarily reporting gender pay gaps annually through data published by NISRA.