§ Miss Joan Lestorasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many (a) men and (b) women he has appointed to public bodies in the past year; and what is the total number of men and women appointed by his Department to serve on public bodies.
§ Mr. YoungerAs at 1 September 1981, the latest date for which information is available, I had sole appointing responsibility for 3,946 posts on public bodies and joint appointing responsibility with other United Kingdom Ministers for a further 694 posts. Of the total of 4,640 posts, 3,242 were held by men and 1,303 by women; and 95 posts were vacant.
The information requested about the number of men and women I have appointed to serve on public bodies in the past year is not readily available and could not be provided except at disproportionate cost.