§ Mr.JannerTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what action he has taken to remedy past inequalities in employment practices in his Department, in compliance with the codes of the Commission for Racial Equality and the Equal Opportunities Commission, respectively.
§ Mr. RifkindMy Department has recently completed a survey of the ethnic origins of staff in the Scottish Office and associated Departments as part of the nationwide survey of civil servants. This information is being kept up to date by asking new entrants to the Department to complete a questionnaire showing their ethnic origin. It is my Department's intention to review the results of the survey with a view to determining what future action should be taken to encourage applications from ethnic minorities for posts in the Scottish Office.
In compliance with the Equal Opportunities Commission code of practice, facilities are offered to Scottish Office staff to enable them to combine a career with domestic responsibilities and to provide continuity of employment in such circumstances. These facilities include flexible working hours, special leave, reinstatement, re-employment and part-time working. Further opportunity for part-time working should be created as a result of a formal job sharing agreement which has recently been concluded between the Department and the trade union side.
In addition, there are developmental training courses exclusively for female officers which they can attend at the Civil Service College. The Department maintains a record, to which staff have access, of child care facilities available from local government.