§ 52. Mr. Gwilym Robertsasked the Minister for the Civil Service what representations he has received about the predominance of Oxford and Cambridge graduates in the upper echelons of the Civil Service; and what steps he is taking to make the senior grades in the Civil Service more typical of the population of the country as a whole.
§ Mr. HayhoeI have not received representations as such on this subject, though of course there has long been comment, much of it misinformed, on the proportion of Oxbridge graduates who enter as administration trainees. But there are other routes to the upper echelons of the Civil Service, and those appointed to the Higher Civil Service are selected on the basis of their proven skills and ability and, where appropriate, professional qualification, without referene to their place of education.