HL Deb 27 October 2004 vol 665 cc134-5WA
Lord Berkeley

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What is the number of women and men on the boards of (a) the Office of Rail Regulation: (b) the Strategic Rail Authority: (c) Crossrail; (d) Network Rail; and (e) the Health and Safety Commission; and whether they have a policy to encourage the appointment of more women to such positions. [HL4440]

Lord Davies of Oldham

The number of women and men on the boards of each of the bodies listed (with the exception of Network Rail) is:

Organisation Board members (total) Men Women
Office of Rail Regulation 6 4 2
Strategic Rail Authority 10 7 3
Cross London Rail Links Limited 7 7 0
Health and Safety Commission 10 6 4

Network Rail is a private company, limited by guarantee, and its board is not appointed by Her Majesty's Government.

Cross London Rail Links Limited (CLRL), a private limited company, was established in January 2002 as a joint venture between the Strategic Rail Authority and Transport for London. Following the Secretary of State's 20 July announcement on Crossrail, the company has now been restructured as a joint venture between the Department for Transport and Transport for London, each of which appoints three directors. The chairman is appointed by the Secretary of State with the agreement of the London Mayor.

The Department for Transport and the Department for Work and Pensions (responsible for the Health and Safety Commission) have published their proposals for increasing the diversity in public appointments in the Cabinet Office's annual report, Delivering Diversity in Public Appointments 2003.