§ Jackie BallardTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what percentage of the (i) paid and (ii) unpaid appointments which he has made to non-departmental public bodies since 1 May 1997 were women. [39410]
§ Mr. SpellarSince 1 May 1997, to date, women have been appointed to 2 paid and 1 unpaid appointments to the Department's Non-Departmental Public Bodies, representing 2.5% and 3.8% respectively of the total appointments and reappointments made in that period. The Government are committed to increasing the representation of women in public life. In support of this, my Department has drawn up an action plan for increasing the number of women and ethnic minorities holding public appointments.