§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what progress he has made in his discussions on the recommendations in the Swann report that more teachers from minority groups should be recruited.
§ Mr. Chris PattenIn his statement to the House on 14 March 1985, in column 452, my right hon. Friend the Member for Leeds, North-East (Sir K. Joseph) accepted the Swann recommendation that, without positive discrimination and without any reduction in the required level of qualification, an increase should be sought in the proportion of ethnic minority schoolteachers. In July 1985 the Department issued a consultation paper exploring possible ways to achieve this, to which responses have been received from 68 organisations and individuals. We are considering what further measures might now be taken. A representative working group set up by my right hon. Friend the Member for Leeds, North-East is considering whether acceptable arrangements could be devised for monitoring the ethnic composition of the school teacher force.