Equal Opportunities

HC Deb 31 March 1993 vol 222 c294W

Mr. Janner

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when his Department last conducted surveys of(a)the ethnic origins and (b)women among its employees; when it next plans to do so; and whether he will make a statement.

Mr. Norris

A survey was conducted into the ethnic origins of all employees of the Department of Transport and its agencies for whom this information was not already known in October 1992. Surveys into the ethnic origin of new entrants to the Department are conducted every month.

The gender of employees is recorded for all staff on the Department's computerised personnel information system.

Mr. Janner

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many and what percentage of officers in each grade from 1 to 7 and overall in his Department are(a)women, (b) from ethnic minorities and (c)disabled people.

Mr. Norris

At 24 March 1993 the following numbers and percentages of(a)women, (b)ethnic minorities and (c) disabled people were employed in the Department of Transport and its agencies.

	(a) Women	(b) Ethnic Minorities	(c) Registered Disabled People
	Number	Per cent.	Number	Per cent.1	Number	Per cent.
Grade 1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Grade 2	0	0	0	0	0	0
Grade 3	3	9.4	0	0	0	0
Grade 4	0	0	0	0	0	0
Grade 5	8	7.3	1	1.0	0	0
Grade 6	7	4.7	6	4.2	0	0
Grade 7	74	9.5	23	3.2	0	0
Overall in the Department	7,144	45.9	731	5.2	202	1.3
1 Figures show ethnic minority staff as a percentage of those whose ethnic origin is known.

Mr. Janner

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he has taken to recruit women, members of ethnic minorities and disabled people, respectively, in top grades of employment at his Department.

Mr. Norris

Recruitment to top grades in the Department of Transport is undertaken on its behalf by the civil service commissioners. Recruits 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 includingextending links with institutions of higher education; equal opportunities training for those involved in selection; using validated selection procedures.