HC Deb 28 July 1988 vol 138 cc431-3W
Mr. Janner

To ask the Minister for the Civil Service (1) whether he will now institute an ethnic monitoring procedure through to the appointment stage, in accordance with the code of the Commission for Racial Equality, in respect of all the schemes for recruitment run by the Civil Service Commission;

(2) whether he has instituted an ethnic monitoring procedure within the Civil Service Commission, in accordance with the code of the Commission for Racial Equality;

(3) whether he will now institute ethnic monitoring procedure in accordance with the code for racial equality so that he may in future be able to give the numbers and percentages of ethnic minorities among permanent appointments to the Civil Service at grade 7 level or above.

Mr. Luce

The Commission for Racial Equality's code of practice recommends that employers should regularly monitor the effects of selection decisions in order to assess whether equal opportunity is being achieved. The code recognises that the need for detailed information and the methods of collecting it will vary according to circumstances.

The Civil Service Commission currently monitors through to the appointment stage all its major schemes of recruitment. In specialist areas, where recruitment schemes frequently attract small, sometimes very small, applicant fields, the commission has adopted a more selective procedure. It has used the results of comprehensive monitoring of applications to identify those schemes where there are sufficient applicants of known ethnic origin, and within that sufficient ethnic minority applicants, for monitoring through to appointment to produce useful results. The results of the first year's monitoring were set out in the Civil Service Commissioners' annual report for 1987.

The results of monitoring are being used to help the commissioners set priorities for improving equality of opportunity in recruitment. The commissioners are currently considering to what extent, within available resources and consistent with their priorities for further action, they can extend monitoring through to appointment. I shall write to the hon. and learned Member once they have completed their consideration.

Mr. Janner

To ask the Minister for the Civil Service which quasi-governmental or other organisations which come under the aegis of the Cabinet Office and of the Office of the Minister for the Civil Service, respectively, have instituted procedures for ethnic monitoring, in accordance with the code for racial equality; and which have not.

Mr. Luce

Two advisory bodies come under the aegis of the Cabinet Office and seven under the OMCS. These advisory bodies do not employ staff on their own account. Their secretariats are provided by the Cabinet Office and are subject to departmental ethnic monitoring procedures.

Mr. Janner

To ask the Minister for the Civil Service in which grades the two people from ethnic minorities specified as grades 1 to 7 in his Department are; and whether either or both of these people are women.

Mr. Luce

The two are a senior medical officer (grade 5 equivalent) and a grade 7 (statistician). They are both male.

Mr. Janner

To ask the Minister for the Civil Service in which grades the people from ethnic minorities specified as employed SEO or HEO in his Department from ethnic minorities are; and whether either or both of these people are women.

Mr. Luce

They are both HEOs, one male and one female.

Mr. Janner

To ask the Minister for the Civil Service in which grades the people from ethnic minorities specified as EO in his Department from ethnic minorities are; and whether either or both of these people are women.

Mr. Luce

The three EOs are two males and one female.