§ Mrs. Dunwoodyasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make the gathering of information on ethnic origins compulsory, and publish the percentage of entrants to his Department who failed to respond to the ethnic origins questionnaire.
§ Mr. Tom KingA survey of the ethnic origin of staff-inpost and new entrants to the Northern Ireland Office282W (Home Civil Service group) has been carried out on the basis of voluntary self-classification. There are no plans at present to change to a compulsory system.
Information on the number of new entrants who responded to the questionnaires, and those who did not, between October 1985 and September 1986 was given in my hon. Friend's reply to the hon. Member on 10 March 1987, at columns 142–43.
Information on the response rates among entrants who joined the Northern Ireland Office on loan from other Government Departments is not readily available.