Equal Opportunities (Hansard, 2 December 1991)

§ 40. Mr. Burt
To ask the Minister for the Civil Service what is being done to further equal opportunities training in the civil service.

§ The Minister of State, Privy Council Office (Mr. Tim Renton)
We take the subject of equal opportunities training very seriously. With that in mind, my Department recently published two equal opportunities training packages and a video. Those will be used by Departments and agencies in a wide range of training programmes.

§ Mr. Burt
I am grateful for that answer. Is my right hon. Friend satisfied with recent progress in the civil service in giving effect to such measures? Does he agree that those of us who want better representation of all minorities in the civil service believe that that can best be achieved through co-ordination with the education service? Is not it important that people come through naturally and that no special favours are seen to be given, because otherwise those places would be devalued?

§ Mr. Renton
To take my hon. Friend's second point first, it is very important that it should be made clear in schools, universities and polytechnics that the civil service and the public sector generally provide a good career for women as well as for men and also for ethnic minorities. It is a career which, with help, they can follow throughout their lives.
As for my hon. Friend's first point, over the past four years the proportion of women in the top civil service grades has nearly doubled, from 4 per cent. in 1987 to 7.3 per cent. now. That is unsatisfactory; there is a long way to go. However, the civil service is trying very hard to implement equal opportunities.

§ Dr. Marek
Is it true that only three of the 53 newly appointed chief executives of executive agencies are women? If it is true, are not the Minister's sentiments and what he says about trying to achieve equality of opportunity for women within the civil service just platitudinous rubbish?

§ Mr. Renton
That sounded awfully tough, but the answer is that 41 of the 63 civilian chief executives will be appointed by open competition. One third of all chief executives are from outside the civil service and 11 per cent. are women. Of those 11 per cent., one, the chief executive of the Civil Service college, reports directly to me. When considering those for which I have direct responsibility, that represents one out of three, so in that area at least we are doing extremely well.