HC Deb 15 April 1993 vol 222 cc697-8W
Mr. Janner

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when his Department and the Lord Advocate's office last conducted surveys of(a) ethnic origins and (b) the number of women among their employees; when they next plan to do so; and whether he will make a statement.

Mr. Lang

My Department conducted a voluntary survey of the ethnic origins of staff in 1987 with a follow-up, reminder exercise in 1989 and thereafter all new entrants have been invited to complete questionnaires.

Following the 1987 survey, the employment of persons from ethnic minorities is also constantly monitored by the Lord Advocate's Department.

Neither Department has any plans to conduct additional surveys of ethnic origins.

In both Departments surveys of women employees are unnecessary as the sex of all employees is clearly identified in staff records.

Mr. Janner

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he has taken to recruit women, members of ethnic minorities and disabled people, respectively, in top grades of employment at the Scottish Office and at the Lord Advocate's Department.

Mr. Lang

Recruits to the senior grades (as to any grade in the civil service) are selected on merit on the basis of fair and open competition, unless one of the exceptions permitted under the Civil Service Order in Council 1991 applies. Various steps have been taken by the civil service commissioners to aid recruitment from all sectors of the community including:

  • extending links with higher education institutions;
  • equal opportunities training for those involved in selection;
  • using validated selection procedures.

Mr. Janner

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many and what percentage of officers in each grade from 1 to 7 and overall in his Department and in the Lord Advocate's Office are(a) women, (b) from ethnic minorities and (c) disabled people.

Mr. Lang

The number and percentage of officers in grades 1–7 and in total in my Department who were(a) women (as at 1 April 1992), (b) from ethnic minorities (as at 1 April 1992) and (c) disabled persons (as at 1 July 1992), are as follows:

Grade (and equivalents) Women Percentage
1 — —
2 — —
3 3 11.5
4 1 6.2
5 17 12.6
6 36 17.1
7 68 14.7
Total (head count) 2,828 44.9

The total number of officers employed in my Department who described themselves as belonging to an ethnic minority was 27 or 0.4 per cent. Of that number one grade 7 is so described (0.2 per cent. of that grade).

At 1 July 1992 there were two registered disabled officers at grade 6 level in my Department which represented 1 per cent of staff in that grade.

The total number of registered disabled staff was 86 which represented 1.4 per cent. of the total staff. In addition there were eight officers who described themselves as disabled, which represented a further 0.1 per cent. of staff. Two of these staff were at grade 7 level.

In the Lord Advocate's Department, the number and percentage of officers in grades 1 to 7 and in total who were (a) women (as at 1.4.92), (b) from ethnic minorities (as at 1.4.92) or (c) disabled persons (as at 1.7.92) are as shown below:

Grade Women Percentage
1 — —
2 — —
3 — —
4 — —
5 3 10
6 4 10
7 63 49
Total (head count) 768 70

There were no officers in the Lord Advocate's Department who described themselves as belonging to an ethnic minority, nor were there any registered disabled persons in grades 1 to 7 of the Department. There were, however, seven registered disabled officers in the Department in total, which represented 0.6 per cent. of the total staff.

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