DLUHC's gender pay gap report 2022
Published 24 November 2022
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Executive summary
This report covers the submission for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) Group, which includes the core department, the Planning Inspectorate, and the Queen Elizabeth II Centre (the QEII Centre), with gender pay gap data as of March 2022. The DLUHC Group includes other Arms’ Length Bodies who are responsible for their own submissions.
In line with the legal requirements, this report includes reporting on gender pay gaps at the mean and median; the mean and median gender bonus gaps; and the proportion of men and women who received bonuses. We also include a summary of our diversity and inclusion action plan as requested by Cabinet Office.
DLUHC remains committed to taking the necessary steps to address gender pay gaps and this priority is articulated in our diversity and inclusion plan.
1. Introduction
In 2017, the government introduced world-leading legislation that made it statutory for organisations with 250 or more employees to report annually on their gender pay gap. Government departments are covered by the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017 which came into force on 31 March 2017.
These regulations underpin the Public Sector Equality Duty and require the relevant organisations to publish their gender pay gap data by March annually, including mean and median gender pay gaps; the mean and median gender bonus gaps; the proportion of men and women who received bonuses; and the proportions of male and female employees in each pay quartile.
This report fulfils the gender pay gap reporting requirements, analyses the figures in more detail and sets out what we are doing to close the gender pay gap in the organisation.
The reporting period is 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022.
Organisational context
For the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), our overall gender pay gap figures incorporate data for the Planning Inspectorate and the QEII Centre as well as the core department. A total of 4,136 people are included in the dataset, with women making up 50.1%.
This is the sixth annual report on gender pay gaps in the DLUHC Group and we remain committed to analysing and investigating any gender pay gaps and ensuring that we put in place the correct action plans to address them.
Since the reporting exercise in 2021, gender pay gaps in the core department have reduced at the mean but increased at the median but remain modest overall, in part because of the even distribution of men and women throughout the organisation.
However, for the Planning Inspectorate the gender pay gaps are more structural, and it has been their priority to find the best possible interventions to deal with these issues without introducing new biases in recruitment.
2. Gender pay gap report
The gender pay gap shows the difference in the average pay between all men and women in a workforce. If a workforce has a particularly high gender pay gap, this can indicate there may be a number of issues to deal with, and the individual calculations may help to identify what those issues are.
The gender pay gap is different to equal pay. Equal pay deals with the pay differences between men and women who carry out the same jobs, similar jobs, or work of equal value. It is unlawful to pay people unequally because they are a man or a woman. DLUHC supports the fair treatment and reward of all staff irrespective of gender.
This year our gender pay gap data has been provided by the Annual Civil Service Employment Statistics (ACSES) based on our data supplied to the Cabinet Office for the period ending 31 March 2022. As part of this approach, each full-pay relevant employee’s hourly rate of pay was determined using full-time equivalent salaries and contracted weekly hours.
Permanent and pensionable allowances, non-consolidated performance payments, and salary sacrifice deductions are all incorporated to ensure that the methodology is consistent with reports produced in previous years. The department is satisfied that this approach is wholly consistent with the actual salary, hours, and earnings (ASHE) approach applied in each of the last 5 years.
DLUHC continues to work closely with its executive agencies, the Planning Inspectorate and the QEII Centre, to ensure consistency with previous years following the change in approach to submission of the core statistics which make up the ACSES report. However, as their gender pay gap data is submitted directly to the Cabinet Office as part of the annual collection of civil service statistics, we are no longer able to analyse and explain their data in the way that we have done in previous years.
In addition, Civil Service HR has requested a more concise report this year, therefore we have elected not to commission a full report on the gender pay gap data from the Planning Inspectorate and the QEII Centre, but have included a brief summary of the changes in the gender pay gaps at these agencies from 2021 to 2022 in Annex A and Annex B, acknowledging that this is not a full analysis.
The Group (DLUHC core department and agencies) shows a mean pay gap of 4.0% and a median gap of 6.1%. Both gaps have reduced since the reporting exercise in 2021 when the mean gap was 5.3% and the median gap was 11.6%.
Mean and median pay gap by organisation - 31 March 2022
| Organisation | % |
|---|---|
| Mean DLUHC | 2.7% |
| Median DLUHC | 5.9% |
| Mean Planning Inspectorate | 11.8% |
| Median Planning Inspectorate | 26.9% |
| Mean QEII Centre | 3.6% |
| Median QEII Centre | 12.5% |
| Mean DLUHC Group | 4.0% |
| Median DLUHC Group | 6.1% |
Gender pay gap results vary in different parts of the Group:
Mean gender pay gap
| Organisation | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core Department | 3.1% | 3.2% | 2.7% |
| Planning Inspectorate | 11.6% | 13.1% | 11.8% |
| The QEII Centre | 10.2% | 12.2% | 3.6% |
Median gender pay gap
| Organisation | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core Department | 3.0% | 5.3% | 5.9% |
| Planning Inspectorate | 14.6% | 26.9% | 26.9% |
| The QEII Centre | 9.6% | 14.6% | 12.5% |
3-Year comparison table for DLUHC Group
| Gender pay gap mandatory figures and comparison with previous years | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean gender pay gap - Ordinary pay | 5.1% | 5.3% | 4.0% |
| Median gender pay gap - Ordinary pay | 7.7% | 11.6% | 6.1% |
| Mean gender pay gap - Bonus pay in the 12 months ending 31 March | -10.9% | 5.3% | -11.5% |
| Median gender pay gap - Bonus pay in the 12 months ending 31 March | 0.0% | -20.5% | 0.0% |
Proportion of male and female employees paid a bonus in the 12 months ending 31 March
| Gender | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Male | 61.4% | 57.4% | 55.6% |
| Female | 63.1% | 61.1% | 52.2% |
Pay quartile distribution for DLUHC Group
Pay quartiles have been calculated by splitting all DLUHC group employees into 4 even groups according to their level of pay. Looking at the proportion of women in each quartile gives an indication of women’s representation at different levels of the group. An analysis of the DLUHC group showing the proportion of male and female employees in each quartile is shown in the graphic below:
Proportion of male and female employees in each quartile, 31 March 2022
| Quartile | Female | Male | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upper quartile | 46.0% | 54.0% | 100% |
| Upper middle quartile | 50.2% | 49.8% | 100% |
| Lower middle quartile | 51.8% | 48.2% | 100% |
| Lower quartile | 55.5% | 44.5% | 100% |
3. Analysis of pay gap for core department
While the gender pay gaps reported for the core department last year were 3.2% at the mean and 5.3% at the median, our gender pay gaps this year have reduced at the mean but increased at the median. The gender pay gap for the core department as of 31 March 2022 is 2.7% at the mean and 5.9% at the median.
We have employed 1,006 new staff between 31 March 2021 and 31 March 2022, and so our dataset is substantially changed from that on which previous analysis was based. To further add to that point, 371 of the staff included in last year’s report have left the Department in the time since. The closing of gender pay gaps at most grades is a result of the number of new employees of both genders being employed at the minimum of the pay range.
DLUHC average (mean) gender pay gap by grade
| Grade | Female mean hourly rate of pay | Male mean hourly rate of pay |
|---|---|---|
| SCS2 (6.1% pay gap) | £55.9 | £59.5 |
| SCS1 (0.6% pay gap) | £42.4 | £42.6 |
| G6 (1.0% pay gap) | £34.2 | £34.6 |
| G7 (1.4% pay gap) | £27.9 | £28.3 |
| SEO (1.5% pay gap) | £20.5 | £20.8 |
| HEO (1.0% pay gap) | £17.1 | £17.2 |
| EO (0.9% pay gap) | £14.5 | £14.7 |
| AO (2.7% pay gap) | £13.1 | £13.4 |
*Grades in the Civil Service progress in seniority from AO (Administrative Office) through to SCS (Senior Civil Servant).
In previous years, gender pay gaps in the core department were impacted by considerable changes in the Executive Team, and this year is no different. This year’s data reflects the appointment of a female second Permanent Secretary, and an extra male Director General.
The gender pay gap at Director level has risen slightly to 6.1% compared to last year (which was 5.3%) due to the appointment of 3 out of 6 female Directors being appointed at the minimum, compared to 6 out of 7 male Directors being appointed on higher starting salaries above the minimum. We have also had 2 female leavers at Director level who were receiving salaries above the minimum which further contributes to the widening gap. The gender pay gap at Deputy Director level has continued to close from 3.5% at the mean to 0.6% this year. This is as a result 13 female Deputy Directors who have been appointed above the minimum.
For Senior Civil Servants’ recruitment, we scrutinise new appointments to ensure that we benchmark appropriately and that any differentials in pay offer are justified in terms of skills and experience. However, there are cases where individuals transfer in from other departments, and we are bound to the civil service rules for either level transfer or increase on promotion.
Whilst there have been marginal changes in gender pay gaps at Grade 7, SEO (Senior Executive Officer), and HEO (Higher Executive Officer), the gap at Grade 6 level has reduced from 1.7% last year to 1% this year. Analysis of appointment at this level indicate this is due to the recruitment of 52 females at this level compared to 34 males.
The gap at EO (Executive Officer) level has also reduced from 2.6% to 0.9%. Analysis indicates this is due to the appointment of 104 females compared to 85 males at this level. Most appointments at this level were recruited at the minimum, however there were 18 females who were appointed above the minimum at this level, compared to 6 males.
At AO (Administrative Officer) level the gender pay gap has continued to close from 3.4% in 2020 to 3.0% in 2021 to now 2.7% in 2022. Gender pay gap calculations do not differentiate on region, so gender pay gaps are impacted by the location of our AOs. We have 62 AOs in total (32 female, 30 male), 27.4% of male AOs are based in London where the AO spot rate is £26,871pa, compared to 21% of female AOs based in London. The gender pay gap at AO level is impacted by female appointments in the regions, where the spot rate is nearly £3,000 per annum lower in March 2022. Female AOs make up 30.6% of the National based AOs, compared to 21% of male AOs.
Pay quartile distribution for core department
An analysis of the quartile distribution for the core department by grade shows a relatively even distribution of men and women in all quartiles which plays a large part in explaining our modest gender pay gaps.
Whereas last year 48.2% of females were in the upper quartile, this year this has increased to 50.1%. It is worth noting however that in 2020, 48% of women were in the upper quartile, with the upward shift in representation explained by the analysis above. Whereas last year 55.4% of women were in the lower quartile, this year this has shifted marginally to 55.7%. These changes in the distribution of men and women in the quartiles explain the reduction of our gender pay gaps since the reporting exercise in 2021.
Proportion of male and female employees in each quartile: 31 March 2022 for core department
| Quartile | Female | Male | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upper quartile | 50.1% | 49.9% | 100% |
| Upper middle quartile | 51.5% | 48.5% | 100% |
| Lower middle quartile | 52.5% | 47.5% | 100% |
| Lower quartile | 55.7% | 44.3% | 100% |
4. Analysis of the bonus gap for DLUHC Group
Bonus pay is included in all gender pay gap calculations and covers the Group. The data for bonus gender pay gaps for the core department includes a diverse mixture of vouchers and cash awards for delegated grades, and senior civil service (SCS) performance bonuses of between £3,000 and £12,000 depending on whether they are for in-year or end of year performance recognition.
For the core department, the bonus schemes are funded from a non-consolidated performance pot of 0.65% of delegated paybill; whereas for SCS performance bonuses are funded from a performance pot of 3.3% in line with the Cabinet Office rules for all SCS.
For the Planning Inspectorate bonuses are limited to a very modest reward vouchers scheme. For the QEII Centre, there are 3 different schemes in operation – an individual scheme; a corporate scheme; and a more targeted scheme for those in marketing roles.
For the core department, there have been no changes to the non-consolidated performance pot for delegated grades since 2016. The terms of reference are clearly communicated, and local areas can award non-consolidated cash awards up to £1,000 as well as smaller scale instant reward vouchers up to £100 for exceptional performance.
The scheme is fully in-year and operates at directorate level. Human Resources audits the scheme on an annual basis, with analysis covering grade and all protected characteristics, not just gender. We report back to each Director General so that they can see the full equality analysis of their performance awards for the previous pay remit year.
As regard SCS performance bonuses, for the 2021/22 performance year a total of 41 SCS received an end of year bonus – 48.8% were female. Of the 48 SCS who received an in-year performance bonus during 2021/22, 50% were female.
At Group level, slightly more men (55.6%) received a bonus in the 12 months ending 31 March 2022 than women (52.2%). Despite more men than women receiving a bonus, for the core department the median bonus gap is -25% in favour of women, with the mean at -7.1%. This has increased from last year when the median bonus gap was -3.3% in favour of women, with the mean gap at 0.1%.
The bonus gender pay gap can change quite significantly from one year to the next, particularly at the median statistical measure, as there can by chance be quite a large variance between the bonus received by the female in the median position compared to the male.
For example, if both the male and the female in the median position received a cash bonus award of £400, the bonus gender pay gap would be 0%; whereas if the female received £300 and the male £250, the reported bonus gap would be -20% as the difference is reported as a percentage of the male bonus. In this case it would be bonus gender pay gap in favour of females.
Proportion of men and women in DLUHC Group paid a bonus during 2022
| Gender | % |
|---|---|
| Women | 52.2% |
| Men | 55.6% |
5. Targeted action to reduce and close the gender pay gap
Since the reporting exercise in 2021, gender pay gaps in the core department have reduced at the mean but increased at the median but remain modest overall, in part because of the even distribution of men and women throughout the organisation.
Our 2021 Diversity and Inclusion Strategy committed to “Monitor and address our widening gender pay gap over the next 3 years. The core department has a modest gender pay gap compared to other Whitehall departments; however, this has widened over the last 2 years and will be an area of focus”.
Through a co-ordinated focus, supported by Senior Leaders, on the key pillars in the core department’s diversity strategy (’Bring in (recruitment) and Bring On’ (progression)) we have been successful in increasing representation rates of women in DLUHC.
This focus has seen the overall representation of women in DLUHC increase from 51% to 53%. This is significantly above the 50% gender parity value target we set in our 2021 Diversity and Inclusion strategy and above the rate in the economically active population.
The representation at SCS level is even higher, moving from 52% in April 21 to 55% in April 22.
Our practices include the continuation of blind recruitment to remove bias in early recruitment stages for both internal and external exercises at the delegated grades. Gender balanced panels are also mandated.
Internal sponsorship, senior championing and mentoring of women remains a key focus for us.
In this reporting period we have supported higher numbers of women than previous years on Crossing Thresholds: a 12-month career mentoring programme for women to develop their career aimed at entry level to senior manager grades.
We have supported 2 mixed grade cohorts of 42 women on a closed Leadership Summit.
We have also continued with our Diversity Board (Executive Team subcommittee) and refreshed their terms of reference to include responsibility for holding DLUHC to account through monitoring the delivery of the DLUHC Diversity and Inclusion Strategy ambitions.
The board has a specific focus on data, evidence, and analysis and board members also represent the D&I interests of their Group/ Directorates/ professions and work in that capacity to develop their own local plans, identifying priorities based on their own data and insights and needs. This enables DLUHC to focus attention in specific areas quickly.
DLUHC has renewed our focus on greater accountability and transparency to demonstrate, and fulfil, our commitment to equality. To support this, we internally publish:
- monthly analysis of diversity and inclusion data to measure the impact of our action plan.
- this gender pay gap report, including analysis of gender pay gaps on a grade-by-grade basis, including those at SCS level
DLUHC has a culture of supporting and encouraging flexibility for staff of all genders and continue to challenge assumptions about traditional ways of working, taking account of the needs of our work, customers, and employees. In recognition of our family friendly working policies, we have placed in the Top 30 UK Employers for families in the Working Families benchmark 2021.
In the next reporting period, we will continue to focus on the actions above but recognise that recruitment may be lessened and so more focus will be given to ‘bring on’.
These commitments and others that look to narrow the gap in core DLUHC will be set out in a refresh of our diversity and inclusion strategy that we plan to publish in the early part of 2023.
6. Declaration
We confirm that data reported by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is accurate and has been calculated according to the requirements and methodology set out in the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017
Name/job title of signature:
Matt Thurstan, Chief Financial Officer
Annex A: The Planning Inspectorate
The Planning Inspectorate is an Executive Agency of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and their gender pay gap data is included in the data for the Group, as compiled by the Cabinet Office as part of the Annual Civil Service Employment Statistics (ACSES).
Gender pay gaps for the Planning Inspectorate are 11.8% at the mean for 2022 and 26.9% at the median. The gap at the mean has closed from 13.1% in 2021, whereas the median gap has remained at the same level. The Chief Executive and the Executive Board are committed to implementing plan to address current pay gaps and are working hard to improve gender balance in appointment.
The Planning Inspectorate has 2 distinct groups of staff: office-based staff and home-based Planning Inspectors, approximately a 50/50 split. The gender pay gap at the Planning Inspectorate is structural – the overall gender pay gap is directly attributable to the large proportion of senior Inspectors being male; and the large proportion of Administrative Office population are female.
On a grade-by-grade basis across the office-based staff gender pay gaps are small. The Planning Inspectorate has taken active steps to recruit more female Planning Inspectors, from a range of industries which include architects, town planners, surveyors, legal and civil engineers. However, it will take time via recruitment to address the structural aspects of the gender pay gap.
Annex B: The QEII Centre
The QEII Centre is a small Executive Agency of DLUHC with only 42 employees. There are more than 30 different roles at the Centre, many of which are specialist relating to the venue operation and technical delivery. They remunerate via a spot salary system based on pay by role. This means that the gender pay gap varies from year to year based on appointments and makes comparative analysis from one year to the next very difficult.
In 2021 the gender pay gap at the mean was 12.2% and at the median 14.6%. This has closed in 2022 to a gender pay gap of 3.6% at the mean and 12.5% at the median. Whilst the closing of any gender pay gaps is good news, with such a small sample the changes can be attributed to the movement of a small number of people and do not reflect a specific change in approach. All recruitment exercises will continue to be fair and open with a focus on diversity and inclusion.