§ Mr. Gwilym Robertsasked the Minister for the Civil Service if, in view of the findings of the Civil Service Commission annual report 1980 indicating that 60 per cent of the candidates accepted to the administrative trainee grade were educated at Oxford or Cambridge, she will take steps to reduce this percentage by increasing the numbers accepted from other universites and polytechnics; and if she will make a statement.
§ Mr. HayhoeThe Civil Service Commissioners have a duty to select as administration trainees on merit the best of those who apply. The proportion of Oxford and Cambridge graduates among successful candidates in part reflects the fact that they apply in proportionately greater numbers than do able graduates of other universities and polytechnics. The better performance of candidates from Oxford and Cambridge occurs overwhelmingly at the initial stage of selection, which consists of written tests which are objectively marked or marked anonymously by outside examiners.
Following a recommendation of the Expenditure Committee—Session 1976–77, Cmnd 535—the Commissioners, with the help of two outside experts and the first of the new part-time Commissioners, undertook 261W a review of the administration trainee selection procedure. Their report, a copy of which is in the Library, was published in 1979. They found no evidence of bias in favour of any particular group. Over the past two decades, with the help of the university and polytechnic careers services, the Commissioners have made considerable efforts to encourage a wider range of able candidates to apply.
§ Mr. Gwilym Robertsasked the Minister for the Civil Service if, in view of the findings in the Civil Service Commission annual report 1980 that 50 per cent. of the candidates accepted to the administrative trainee grade were educated in public or direct grant schools whereas this represents only 7 per cent. of all pupils, she will take steps substantially to reduce this percentage to ensure that the Civil Service is more representative of the population; and if she will make a statement.
§ Mr. HayhoeThe Civil Service Commissioners have a duty to select the most suitable from among those who apply for the administration trainee entry. Much of the variation in the performance of external candidates from different types of school appears to relate to the university subsequently attended rather than to their school background.
§ Mr. Gwilym Robertsasked the Minister for the Civil Service if, in view of the findings in the Civil Service Commission annual report 1980 indicating that only 18 of the 146 candidates accepted to the administrative trainee grade had degrees in science and technology, she will take steps to increase the proportion of candidates accepted with scientific qualifications; and if she will make a statement.
§ Mr. HayhoeThe Civil Service Commissioners do their best to encourage able scientists to apply for administration trainee appointments but it is perhaps to be expected that many of the most able will, at least initially, wish to pursue careers in their own area of study.
The proportion of candidates for administration trainee who have studied a scientific or technological discipline has been around 10 per cent. for some years. These candidates have been as successful in the competition as those from other disciplines, and in 1980 did rather better relative to the number of applicants than those from the arts and social sciences.