§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed, as representing the House of Commons Commission, if he will detail the results of his monitoring of the ethnic composition of staff employed at the Palace of Westminster.
§ Mr. BeithThere has not so far been a survey of the ethnic composition of staff employed by the House of Commons Commission. However, in July this year the commission agreed that the Board of Management should enter into consultation with the trade union side of the House of Commons Whitley Committee with a view to introducing a system of ethnic monitoring in the House Departments covering existing staff, new entrants and future applicants for employment in non-industrial grades. The question of including industrial staff will be considered when details are received of the arrangements for such staff in the Civil Service.
The commission also agreed that the consultations should proceed on the basis of the questionnaire used for the purpose of ethnic monitoring in the Civil Service. I understand that the head of the Administration Department 109W has subsequently written to the secretary of the trade union side inviting discussions between management and unions on this matter.