§ Mr. JannerTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps he has taken to recruit women, members of ethnic minorities and disabled people, respectively, in top grades of employment at his Department.
§ Mr. EggarRecruits to the senior grades in the Department (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 the extension of links with institutions of higher education, equal opportunities training for those involved in selection and the use of validated selection procedures.
§ Mr. JannerTo ask the President of the Board of Trade when his Department last conducted surveys of(a) ethnic 159W origins and (b) the number of women among its employees; when it next plans to do so; and whether he will make a statement.
§ Mr. EggarVoluntary surveys of ethnic origin were last conducted in 1988 (DTI) and 1990 (Department of Energy). The resulting database has been continuously updated with information on new staff and leavers and special exercises have been conducted to improve the positive response rate; 90 per cent. of staff currently employed by the Department have declared their ethnic origin.
(a) Women (b)1 Ethnic Minorities (c)1 Registered Disabled Grade level Number Percentage staff Number respondents Percentage staff Number Percentage staff Grade 1 — — — — — — Grade 2 — — — — — — Grade 3 6 11.0 — — — — Grade 4 2 12.5 — — — — Grade 5 39 14.0 2 0.7 — — Grade 6 26 11.0 7 3.0 — — Grade 7 176 13.0 26 1.9 3 0.2 All staff excluding industrials and casuals 5,715 44.0 1,228 9.5 121 0.9 1 (b) Ethnic minority figures are based on 90 per cent, positive response rate to ethnic origin survey. (c) The Department also employs a number of disabled staff who are not registered.