Equal Opportunities

HC Deb 05 March 1990 vol 168 cc444-5W

Ms. Walley

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many of his Department's management training courses include sessions on equal opportunities for women; and what proportion of managers, at grade six level and above, working outside headquarters has received training on equal opportunities for women.

Mr. Chris Patten

All the management training courses used by the Department have an equal opportunities content, and in the case of the Department's own courses this is currently being reviewed and strengthened. Courses specifically aimed at women in middle management are also available. Figures on the proportion of senior managers outside headquarters who have received training on equal opportunities for women are not available.

Ms. Walley

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will provide a breakdown of the number of local authority employees by sex.

Mr. Chope

In mid–1989 local authorities in the United Kingdom employed 1,165,000 male staff and 1,768,000 female staff. These and further details are published by the Central Statistical Office in an article "Employment in the public and private sectors" in the December 1989 issue ofEconomic Trends.

Ms. Walley

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he has taken, and what action he intends taking, to implement the recommendations within his area of responsibility for the European Commission's child care network report "Caring for Children—Services and Policies for Childcare and Equal Opportunities in the United Kingdom".

Mr. Patten

This report was prepared for the European Commission which has not yet developed any proposals. The Government believe that policy on child care is a matter for member states. The United Kingdom's policy is that it is for families themselves to determine how their children are to be brought up, and how parents who wish to do so can best combine paid work and family responsibilities. The Government, through the Department of Health and the ministerial group on women's issues, has encouraged the development of a range of high-quality child care options for both parents and employers.

Ms. Walley

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what child care provision his Department provides for pre-school age children of the employees; what child care provision for school holidays or after-school care is provided for employees' children aged five years or over; what plans there are for increasing provision in the next five years; and how these are to be funded.

Mr. Patten

My Department supports an interdepartmental holiday play scheme in central London and, with the trades union side, has provided a play scheme to support residential training courses. The Property Services Agency, in co-operation with the Home Office, is arranging a play scheme in Croydon in the spring.

In central London we have undertaken a feasibility study for a nursery; studies are also in hand for a play scheme-nursery at the Building Research Establishment and we are looking at the possibility of co-operating with other employers in providing child care at our regional offices and outside London in the south-east. These studies include an analysis of the funding options.

Ms. Walley

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what grade is his Department's equal opportunities officer.

Mr. Chris Patten

Grade5—assistant secretary.

Ms. Walley

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what measures he has implemented to ensure that recruitment and promotion policy in his Department does not directly or indirectly discriminate against applicants who were mature students or women returning to work following a career break due to child care.

Mr. Chris Patten

My Department has a policy of fair and open competition in recruitment. The criterion for age is that new entrants must be able to give effective service before retirement; for example the upper age limits for clerical recruitment is 60. Promotion is wholly on merit. We offer staff career breaks of up to five years, based on special leave. We encourage staff to return by running a keeping in touch scheme and we will shortly be running training for staff returning to work. We offer part-time working, job sharing and flexible working hours.

Ms. Walley

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proportion of civil servants in his Department are women at each of grades seven, six, five, four, three, two and one.

Mr. Chris Patten

The number of women employed at grades 7–1 in DOE (Central) at 1 March 1990 was as follows:

Grade	Women	Per cent.
7	98	16
6	4	4
5	18	14
4	1	14
3	4	12

At present no women are employed in grades two and one.