WOMEN working for Northumberland County Council earn the same as their male colleagues, figures show, despite some other councils paying significantly less.

Employers with 250 or more workers must publish figures on differences in pay between their employees through the Government's gender pay gap service.

Most local authorities in England and Wales submitted figures for the year to March 2022, with around a third of councils already doing so for the latest financial year.

The figures show the median hourly salary for women at Northumberland County Council was the same as their male colleagues in the year to March 2022 – and the same as in 2021 to 2022.

Of the 307 councils that provided data for 2021 to 2022, the average local authority paid women 3 per cent less than their male colleagues – a small improvement from 3.3 per cent the year before.

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Data for 2022 to 2023 puts the pay gap at around 2.9 per cent – although only 119 have submitted data so far, with Northumberland County Council still to do so.

Jemima Olchawski, chief executive of the Fawcett Society, which campaigns for women's rights, said: "While it's an important step, Gender Pay Gap Reporting isn't a solution on its own.

"As these figures show, there is a gulf between the best-performing and the worst-performing local authorities."

Across England and Wales, 12 councils reported a gender pay gap of more than 20 per cent in 2021 to 2022.

The number of outsourced employees and differences in services provided by each council are likely to play a role in the variation between them.

The Local Government Information Unit, a membership body, said councils are moving in the right direction on the gender pay gap – but added there is "more work to be done", particularly in senior positions.

Jonathan Carr-West, the organisation's chief executive, said: “Just 22 per cent of council leaders are women and only 33 per cent of council chief executives.

“With women making up 78 per cent of the workforce across local government, this can have knock-on effects across service areas as well as impacting development opportunities for women at all levels,” he added.