§ Mrs. Dunwoodyasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the numbers of entrants to his Department from the ethnic minorities in the years 1985–86 and 1986–87; if he will also list the monitoring procedures used to ascertain the percentage of the workforce represented by ethnic minorities and their patterns of promotion; and what are his methods of recruitment of minorities into the Department.
87W
§ Mr. JoplingThe ethnic origins of new entrants have been surveyed since October 1985. The latest available information for the period up to September 1986 is as follows:—
Number Total new entrants to Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and Intervention Board for Agriculture Produce in period 1 October 1985 to 30 September 1986 600 Ethnic origins White 263 Black/Asian 18 Not stated1 319 1 Includes non-respondents and responses received but not processed at 30 September 1986. A phased programme of departmental surveys of the ethnic origin of civil servants by means of voluntary self-classification is being conducted. By the end of 1986 all staff in the county of Avon, the north west, the east and west midlands, London, the south east and East Anglia had been surveyed. It is intended that all remaining staff will be surveyed in 1987. Consideration is being given to ways of using the data on the ethnic origin of staff-in-post to monitor promotion.
All departmental recruitment is conducted on the basis of fair and open competition and selection is on merit. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State, Privy Council Office on 20 February 1987 at column 880–81 reporting the arrangements being made to encourage people from the ethnic minorities to apply to the Civil Service.