Oral Answers to Questions — Civil Service – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 22 July 1991.
Mr. Robert G. Hughes:
To ask the Minister for the Civil Service whether he intends to take steps to ensure that the list of those being considered for service on public bodies adequately reflects the interests of women and ethnic minorities.
Mr Timothy Renton
, Mid Sussex
Yes, Sir. I keep under active review the range of good practices currently recommended to Departments to ensure equality of opportunity for women and members of the ethnic minorities. The public appointments unit in the Cabinet Office is always keen to receive names and details of anybody whom hon. Members or, indeed, the general public feel would be suitable for addition to the list.
Mr. Hughes:
Does my right hon. Friend agree that that is an encouraging trend and in the right direction for the Government to take? Does he also agree that there is a big difference between positive discrimination, which is unacceptable, and acting positiviely, which is what the Government are doing?
Mr Timothy Renton
, Mid Sussex
I very much agree with my hon. Friend that this is a good trend. The central list now contains more than 5,600 names—about one third of which are women, who are all well qualified for public appointment. I hope that the present trend, including the public nominating themselves, will continue.
Mr Greville Janner
, Leicester West
Is the Minister aware that the recently formed all-party race and community group, of which the hon. Member for Harrow, West (Mr. Hughes) is a respected officer, is concerned about the trends, not only in the sector to which the question referred, but especially in the civil service, where the numbers of people from ethnic minorities in the top grades have fallen in the past year? Will the Minister undertake to look into the matter?
Mr Timothy Renton
, Mid Sussex
The hon. and learned Gentleman anticipates a question just ahead of us on the Order Paper. He is not right to say that the number of those from ethnic minorities in the civil service has fallen—[Interruption.] The number of those from ethnic minorities throughout the civil service has not fallen, but increased. However, I have no doubt that a further increase would be welcome. It is for that reason that the Cabinet Office gives out policy advice about the employment of ethnic minorities.
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