§ Mr. Deakinsasked the Secretary of State for Energy what meetings he has had with the Equal Opportunities Commission to discuss those parts of the United Nations Nairobi conference document forward looking strategies for the advancement of women which are relevant to his Department; and what plans he has for further meetings on this topic.
§ Mr. Peter WalkerNo meetings have been held between my Department and the Equal Opportunities Commission and none is planned.
§ Mr. Deakinsasked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list those bodies to which his Department makes appointments, showing in each case the total number of appointees and the number who are women.
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§ Mr. Peter WalkerThe information as at 2 December 1985 is as follows:
Total members Women British Gas Corporation 11 Nil National Coal Board 9 Nil Electricity Council 5 Nil Central Electricity Generating Board 8 Nil Area electricity boards in England and Wales London Electricity Board 8 1 South Eastern Electricity Board 8 1 Southern Electricity Board 8 1 South Western Electricity Board 8 1 Eastern Electricity Board 8 Nil East Midlands Electricity Board 8 2 Midlands Electricity Board 8 1 South Wales Electricity Board 8 Nil Merseyside and North Wales Electricity Board 8 1 Yorkshire Electricity Board 8 1 North Eastern Electricity Board 7 1 North Western Electricity Board 8 Nil British National Oil Corporation 7 Nil Oil and Pipelines Agency 4 Nil United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority 13 Nil Advisory Council on Research and Development for Fuel and Power 17 Nil Offshore Energy Technology Board 19 Nil I am also consulted on appointments before they are made to the board of British Nuclear Fuels Ltd., in respect of which I am sole shareholder, and with respect to certain of the appointments to the board of the National Nuclear Corporation Ltd. There are currently 12 and 10 respectively on these boards. There are no women appointees.
§ Mr. Deakinsasked the Secretary of State for Energy what steps he is taking to evaluate the successful implementation of those parts of the United Nations Nairobi conference on forward looking strategies for the advancement of women applicable to his Department; what resources have been allocated to this task; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Peter WalkerA copy of the United Nations Nairobi conference document on forward looking strategies for the advancement of women has been received by my Department. The document is being studied to determine necessary action to implement the recommendations relevant to this Department.
I have no plans to make a statement.
§ Mr. Deakinsasked the Secretary of State for Energy what plans he has for implementing paragraph 58 of the United Nations Nairobi conference document on forward looking strategies for the advancement of women relating to the collection of statistics on the situation of women.
§ Mr. Peter WalkerThe following statistics are compiled by my Department and are submitted periodically to the Treasury:—(i) the numbers of men and women employed; (ii) the number of posts restricted to one sex; (iii) the number of complaints from staff on equal opportunities matters; and (iv) the numbers of men and women attending training courses.
§ Mr. Deakinsasked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will set up a special section in his Department to 168W monitor and accelerate the process of equitable representations of women, as called for by paragraph 88 of the Nairobi conference document on forward looking strategies for the advancement of women.
§ Mr. Peter WalkerIn accordance with policy, formulated by the Cabinet Office, an equal opportunities officer has been designated within my Department to review progress on all equal opportunities issues including monitoring and positive action where needed to secure an equitable representation of women.