§ Mr. CarringtonTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what action he is taking to ensure that the civil service maintains the progress of its equal opportunities policies by appointing more women on merit to top posts.
§ Mr. Robert JacksonThe civil service is committed to equal opportunity. It seeks to offer staff at all levels the opportunity to develop their career successfully, combining this where they choose with family commitments. Our aim is to ensure that this opportunity is open to all women, so that those with the ability to reach the top can realise their full potential, to their benefit and that of the service and the public it serves.
Maintaining the principle of selection and promotion on merit, we have concluded that the achievement of our equal opportunity aims will be helped by setting a benchmark, against which progress can be judged. We believe that, if our efforts are sustained, we can realistically expect at least to double the representation of women in the top three grades across the Civil Service as a whole by the year 2000. This will mean a proportion of 15 per cent. or more compared with the 7 per cent. when Opportunity 2000 was launched and under 4 per cent. in 1987. We will review progress each year.