§ Mr. JannerTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many and what percentage of officers in each grade from 1 to 7 and overall in her Department are(a)women, (b)from ethnic minorities and (c)disabled people.
§ Mr. McLoughlinThe numbers and percentages of women and ethnic minority officers in grades 1 to 7 and overall in the Department at 1 April 1992 are set out in the tables. Information on disabled people cannot be provided in the form requested, but overall numbers were 2,066 registered disabled people, or 3.4 per cent., at 1 July 1992.
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Table 1 Women in the Employment Department Group (Grades 1 to 7) at 1 April 1992 Grade Number Percentage Grade 1 0 0 Grade 2 1 20.0 Grade 3 2 7.1 Grade 4 0 0 Grade 5 22 15.6 Grade 6 31 13.4 Grade 7 165 15.6 The Department employed 41,555 women who comprised 66.5 per cent. of the total staff.
Table 2 Ethnic minority staff in the Employment Department Group (Grades 1 to 7) at 1 April 1992 Grade Number Percentage Grade 1 0 0 Grade 2 0 0 Grade 3 0 0 Grade 4 0 0 Grade 5 0 0 Grade 6 0 0 Grade 7 9 0.9 The Department employed 3,607 staff from the ethnic minorities who comprised 6.4 per cent. of respondents to the ethnic origin survey.
§ Mr. JannerTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what steps she has taken to recruit women, members of ethnic minorities and disabled people, respectively, in top grades of employment at her Department.
§ Mr. McLoughlinRecruits 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 institutions of higher education;equal opportunities training for those involved in selection;using validated selection procedures.Additionally, the Department:
has developed and run pre-recruitment training for ethnic minority candidates to its Management Trainee Scheme; was one of the first employers to join the Opportunity 2000 campaign;has signed up to the 15 per cent. benchmark figure for the proportion of women holding posts in the Senior Open Structure by 2000.
§ Mr. JannerTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment when her Department last conducted surveys of(a)ethnic origins and (b)the number of women among its employees; when it next plans to do so; and whether she will make a statement.
§ Mr. McLoughlinThe survey of the ethnic origin of staff which took place in 1986 is continually updated to take account of those entering and leaving the Department. No survey for women is needed as the gender of employees is identified in staff records.