§ 123. Mr. JannerTo ask the Minister for the Civil Service whether he will make a statement concerning the progress of ethnic monitoring within the Civil Service.
§ Mr. LuceDepartments are making good progress in developing monitoring systems in line with the code of practice of the Commission for Racial Equality.
§ Mr. JannerDoes the Minister accept that there is not one black person in grade one, two or three of the Civil Service, only two in grade four and a handful in grades five, six and seven? In the interests of equality and fairness, which apparently some of his hon. Friends do not want, will he accept that those figures show gross discrimination? What steps is he taking to avoid that continuing in the future?
§ Mr. LuceAlthough black and Asian people are broadly fairly represented in proportion to the working population in the Civil Service—some 4.2 per cent.—it is true that in grades seven and above black and Asian people represent only about 1.5 per cent. Civil Service promotion is based on equality of opportunity and on merit. For that reason, we are devising a programme of action to ensure that equality of opportunity works effectively in all areas, including ethnic minorities.
§ Mr. MarlowWill my right hon. Friend look very carefully at the implications of dividing people by race, as the one area in which that would get the overwhelming support of the population of Britain is in relation to the people who are allowed to immigrate into this country?
§ Mr. LuceMy concern is employment in the Civil Service. l want the Civil Service to be open to all people 436 based on merit, if they can prove ability, whatever their background, sex or ethnic origin. We want the broadest-based service that we can achieve.