§ Mr. JannerTo ask the Attorney-General when the Law Officers Departments last conducted surveys of(a) ethnic origins and (b) the number of women among their employees; when they next plan to do so; and whether he will make a statement.
§ The Attorney-GeneralThe position in the Departments for which I am responsible is as follows:
- (a) survey of ethnic origins—the Crown prosecution service conducted a survey in January 1990, which was followed up in June 1990 and December 1991. In the next few months, the service will be resurveying those who have not yet submitted a questionnaire. All new entrants to the service are required to complete a questionnaire on application. The Treasury Solicitor's Department last conducted a survey in January 1993 and the next survey will be in January 1994. The Serious Fraud Office has not conducted a specific survey, and has no plans to do so, as the information is available from staff records.
- (b) Survey of the number of women—neither the Crown prosecution service nor the SFO undertakes, or plans to undertake, particular surveys of the sex of staff, as the information is available from staff records. The Treasury Solicitor's Department last conducted a survey in January 1993 and the next survey will be in January 1994.
Neither survey has been conducted, or is planned to be conducted, in respect of members of the legal secretariat, as they are on secondment from other Government Departments.
§ Mr. JannerTo ask the Attorney-General what steps he has taken to recruit women, members of ethnic minorities and disabled people, respectively, in top grades of employment at the Law Officers' Departments.
§ The Attorney-GeneralRecruits to the senior grades—as to any grade in the civil service—are selected on merit on the basis of fair and open competition, unless one of the exceptions permitted under the Civil Service Order in Council 1991 applies. Various steps have been taken by the Civil Service Commissioners to aid recruitment from all sectors of the community including extending links with institutions of higher education; equal opportunities training for those involved in selection; and using validated selection procedures.
345WBoth the Crown prosecution service and the Serious Fraud Office have joined Opportunity 2000. The Crown prosecution service published a "Programme for Action on Race" in October 1991 and will release shortly a similar "Programme for Action on Disability".
§ Mr. JannerTo ask the Attorney-General how many and what percentage of officers in each grade from 1 to
Grade Women Ethnic Registered disabled Number Per cent. Number Per cent. Number Per cent. Crown Prosecution Service 1 1 (100) — — — — 2 — — — — — — 3 — — — — — — 4 — — — — — — 5 2 (3.4) 1 (1.9) — — 6 26 (12.9) 2 (1.3) — — 7 922 (45.3) 67 (5.6) 10 (0.5) Overall (All) 4,002 (61.2) 272 (6.2) 46 (0.7) Treasury Solicitor's Department 1 — — — — — — 2 1 (50) — — — — 3 — — — — — — 4 1 (25) — — — — 5 10 (23) 1 (2) — — 6 12 (19) 1 (2) — — 7 28 (35) 7 (9) — — Overall (All) 190 (37) 57 (11) 8 (2) Serious Fraud Office 1 — — — — — — 2 — — — — — — 3 — — — — — — 4 — — — — — — 5 2 (16.6) — — — — 6 5 (35.7) 1 (7.1) — — 7 3 (30) — — — — Overall (All) 65 (45.5) 14 (9.8) — — Members of the legal secretariat will be reflected, as appropriate, in the records of the Government Departments from which they are seconded.