§ Mr. AllanTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many and what percentage of the(a) paid and (b) unpaid appointments which he has made to non-departmental public bodies since 1 May 1997 were women. [129855]
§ Mr. Alan Johnson[holding answer 12 July 2000]: Of the appointments I have made to non-departmental public bodies since 1 May 1997:
- (i) 54 were women to positions which received some remuneration (29.3 per cent. of remunerated appointments)
- (ii) 42 were women to unpaid positions (19.6 per cent. of unpaid appointments).
This Government are committed to increasing the representation of women in public life. In support of this, the Department has drawn up an action plan for increasing the number of women and ethnic minorities holding public appointments. The latest plan, together with the Government's overall plan, was published on 24 May 2000 in "Quangos: Opening up Public Appointments 2000–2003", copies of which are in the Libraries of the House.