Minister for Women Tessa Jowell today welcomed the Office of National Statistics announcement of a fall in the gender pay gap. Mrs Jowell said: "It is excellent news that the gender pay gap is now at its lowest level in 30 years since the introduction of the Equal Pay Act. "In 1975, women earned 70p for every £1 a man received, while today women receive 83p. The pay gap has fallen from 17.4% in 1998 to 13.2% in 2005. Women now earn an average of £9.82 an hour and men £11.31 an hour."

"But there is obviously still more to be done. This shows that government policies to address the reasons why the pay gap has existed for so long are working: the minimum wage, flexible working, and better maternity and paternity leave.

"But there is no room for complacency; we must close the pay and skills gap further to ensure women have higher lifetime earnings and higher pensions.

"Our next step will be to take forward the recommendations from the Women and Work Commission's Report, which we look forward to receiving in January."