§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Minister for the Civil Service whether, pursuant to her reply to the hon. Member for Newham, North-West, Official Report, 24 November, column 333, why the ethnic origins of the top civil servants are not recorded; whether she will arrange to do this in the future; whether she will give a rough estimate as to whether, out of 2,410 quoted, such members of the ethnic groups are within single, double, treble or quadruple figures.
§ Mr. HayhoeThe Civil Service has a long-standing policy of equal opportunities. Ethnic origin is not relevant to recruitment or advancement in the service and consequently such information is not recorded. The Government are considering their response to the recommendation by the Select Committee on Home Affairs that some sort of monitoring should be undertaken in the Civil Service. At present there is no basis on which I could offer a reliable estimate of members of ethnic minority groups in any particular Civil Service grade.