§ Mrs. Ann CryerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will encourage local authorities to publish the composition of their workforces in terms of standard age groups, ethnic origin and gender in their annual reports. [104015]
§ Ms Beverley HughesUnder the provisions of the Local Government Act 1999, authorities will be required to report annually their performance against specified national performance indicators. Details were published on 23 December in "Best Value and Audit Commission Performance Indicators for 2000–2001". They include indicators on the representation of minority ethnic staff in the workforce and the proportion of women in senior management posts. There is no indicator in respect of the age breakdown of the workforce, but the indicators will be reviewed annually and updated in the light of consultation with the range of authority and customer interests.