§ Mr. CrausbyTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what percentage of the total workforce in his Department is of ethnic minority origin; and what steps he is taking to encourage the employment of people from the ethnic minorities in his Department. [102604]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 13 December 1999]: As at 1 April 1999, 6.3 per cent. of permanent staff in core MAFF (4.4 per cent. of staff in MAFF including its Agencies) had declared themselves to be of ethnic minority origin.
We encourage the employment of people of ethnic minority origin by a wide range of measures including the use of ethnic minority media as a means of advertising vacancies and attending a number of careers fairs aimed specifically at ethnic minority audiences. We have also recently reviewed and re-issued our Outreach Guidance.