§ Mr. JannerTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what action he has taken to remedy past inequalities in employment practices in his Department, in compliance with the codes of the Commission for Racial Equality and the Equal Opportunities Commission, respectively.
§ Mr. Peter WalkerMy Department continues to be an equal opportunity employer. With regard to the code of the Commission for Racial Equality, it is carrying out ethnic monitoring and has approached organisations representing ethnic minority groups and schools with high ethnic populations in the Cardiff area in order to offer career talks and work experience placements and to inform them of local recruitment exercises so as to encourage applications from ethnic minority communities. As for the Equal Opportunities Commission's code, the Welsh Office has an annual review of progress in the field of equal opportunity; a flexi-time agreement; a job-sharing agreement; part-time working; advice to staff on sexual harassment; and detailed guidance about the options and benefits that are available to officers coping with changes in domestic commitments.