§ Mr. Bernie GrantTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many black and ethnic minority people were appointed to the board of visitors of prisons in England and Wales in the financial year 1990–91.
§ Mr. Peter LloydIn 1990–91, 195 appointments were made to boards of visitors.
§ Mr. Bernie GrantTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures have been taken by his Department to increase black and ethnic minority representations on the boards of visitors of prisons in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Peter LloydIn making appointments to a board of visitors, consideration is given to the abilities of the individual candidate to discharge the duties effectively and the desirability of maintaining, so far as possible, a representative balance on the board in terms, for example, of age, sex and social and ethnic background. No fewer than two members of the board are required to be justices of the peace. The membership of individual boards is reviewed every three years.
Advice on the selection and appointment of new members forms part of the training of chairmen of boards of visitors and is also included in the "Notes for the guidance of Chairmen" in the "Handbook for Members of Boards of Visitors", a copy of which I have placed in the library.
The current ethnic make-up of boards is as follows:
Percentage of members in post on 7 July 1992 Ethnic origin Percentage Asian 2.31 Black 3.80 White 64.15 Other 0.25 Not known 29.49
§ Mr. Bernie GrantTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many appointments were made to the boards of visitors of prisons in England and Wales in the financial year 1990–91.
§ Mr. Peter LloydThe figures for 1990–91 are given. These do not include those 63 members who were500W appointed during the relevant period but have since resigned; this information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Number appointed to Boards of Visitors 1990–91 Ethnic Origin Number Asian 1 Black 2 White 59 Other 0 Not known1 70 1 The figures are based upon self-assessment and not all members choose to disclose their ethnic origin.