§ Mr. Bishopasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if, in his appointment of a new directorate to come into being on 1st April concerning the related fields of ancient monuments, historic buildings and conservation areas, he will have regard to the particular contribution which can be made by women.
§ Mr. AmeryIf the hon. Member will let me know what particular contribution he has in mind, I will look at it. In my experience women do not preserve any better than men.
§ Mr. Bishopasked the Secretary of State for the Environment in view of the fact that of the 57 members of the Yorkshire rent assessment panels only 10 are women, if he will consider appointing more women.
21W
§ Mr. AmeryThe Lord Chancellor and I will continue to appoint those best qualified for this work. Not only lay members but also qualified valuersand lawyers of standing have to be appointed. The imbalance of the sexes in these professions restricts the number of women candidates available.
§ Mr. Bishopasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish in the Official Report the numbers and the sex of members of each of the area rent assessment panels; and what is the percentage of women members on each panel.
§ Mr. AmeryThe following is the information:
Rent Assessment Panel Membership Percentage of women members Male Female London 99 23 18.85 Liverpool 36 2 5.26 Manchester 53 3 5.35 West Midland 53 7 11.66 Northern 25 8 24.24 Yorkshire 47 10 17.54 East Midland 40 4 9.09 Eastern 36 4 10 Luton 23 4 14.81 Thames Valley 22 — — Kent 15 4 21.05 Surrey and Sussex 24 3 11.11 Southern 17 3 15 Bristol 40 1 2.43 Devon and Cornwall 27 4 12.25