§ Mr. SinghTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many members of Britain's(a) ethnic minority communities and (b) Asian community he appointed to quangos between (i) 1 June 1997 and 31 May 1998 and (ii) 1 June 1998 and 31 May 1999; [92116]
(2) how many appointments to quangos he made between (i) 1 June 1997 and 31 May 1998 and (ii) 1 June 1998 and 31 May 1999. [92045]
636W
§ Ms HewittThe Government announced in their publication "Quangos: Opening up Public Appointment 1999–2002" (copies deposited in the Libraries of both Houses) their commitment to the equal representation of women and men in public appointments and a pro rata representation of members of ethnic minority groups. In moving towards achieving these commitments, the Chancellor's departments have set an ambitious overall goal that each of the Chancellor's departments' public bodies should include at least one appointment from a member of the ethnic minorities by 2003, and that ethnic minorities should account for a minimum of 4 per cent. of appointments to larger bodies. In 1998, about 5.4 per cent. of all appointments by the Chancellor's departments and agencies were held by members of the ethnic minorities.
The table gives details of those appointments made to NDPB's of the Chancellor's departments and agencies over the periods requested. Information on the number of appointments by ethnic origin cannot be provided since the number of new appointees in each category is less than five:
Appointments NDPB 1 June 1997 to 31 May 1998 1 June 1999 to 31 May 1999 Policyholders Protection Board 4 1 Royal Mint Advisory Committee 3 2 Statistics Advisory Committee 2 0