§ 59. Mr. Sainsburyasked the Minister for the Civil Service how many people have been recruited into the Civil Service to grades of assistant secretary or above in the last three years.
§ Mr. HayhoeSince November 1978, 65 people have been appointed from outside the Civil Service.
§ 66. Mr. Gwilym Robertsasked the Minister for the Civil Service if, in the light of the Civil Service Commission annual report indicating that a high proportion of entrants to the administrative grades of the Civil Service come from a public school, or Oxford or Cambridge, or both, he will take steps to ensure that entry to the higher grades of the Civil Service is more representative of the population as a whole; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. HayhoeAs I said in my answer to a similar question on 21 October 1981, the Civil Service commissioners have a duty to select on merit for the administration trainee grade the most suitable of those who apply without regard to which schools or universities they attended. This recruitment pattern is reviewed annually and I am also satisfied that the commissioners are doing all that they can to encourage able graduates of universities other than Oxford or Cambridge to apply.