§ Mr. VazTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will provide, by outlet, a breakdown of the amount spent on recruitment advertising for the civil service in the ethnic minority media in the last year for which figures are available.
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Mr. JacksonThis information is not centrally held. The majority of civil service recruitment is undertaken by individual departments and agencies who are responsible for selecting their own advertising media.
§ Mr. MorganTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will publish the guidelines governing the appointment of full-time civil servants to be non-executive directors of private companies; how many full-time civil servants are non-executive directors of private companies; what studies he has undertaken into potential conflicts of interests involving such appointments; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. JacksonOne of the principles of conduct which binds the civil service, set out in the personnel management handbook, is that civil servants must not take part in activities which might conflict with the interests of their Departments; or impair their usefulness as public servants; or be inconsistent with their position as public servants. It is for the Departments and individuals concerned to ensure that these requirements are met in each case.
In addition, my Department is publishing this month a new guidance note on the appointment of civil servants as non-executive directors to supplement the rules and procedures followed in departments. I will arrange for copies to be placed in the Libraries of both Houses. The Government continue to support and encourage this and other forms of interchange between the civil service and outside organisations. Approximately 65 full-time civil servants are currently non-executive directors of private companies.