§ Mrs. MaddockTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many employees for which his Department is responsible were women(a) in 1991, (b) in 1992, (c) in 1993 and (d) in 1994; and of these, how many were (i) at grade 7 level, (ii) at grade 3 level, (iii) at executive officer level, (iv) at administrative officer level and (v) at administrative assistant level.
§ Mr. Jack[pursuant to his reply, 25 January 1995, c. 214–16]: The information given for 1994 was incorrect, the correct information is as follows:
hon. Member for Stirling (Mr. Forsyth), in European Standing Committee B.
§ Mr. Nicholas BakerThe draft directive in its original form was unacceptable to the United Kingdom. By the time of the Standing Committee debate on 7 December 1994, a number of improvements had been made, for example in relation to the use of data for research and statistical purposes and for health administration. However, a number of concerns remained. Intensive negotiations continued until political agreement was reached on the directive at the Foreign Affairs Council on 6 February. By then, significant progress had been made towards meeting UK concerns. In particular there is now more flexibility in applying the directive to existing records held in paper filing systems; a safeguard for the effective supervision of City financial institutions; and freedom to continue political canvassing. The UK indicated that it would be abstaining when the matter is put to a formal vote, probably later this month. The 587W decision to abstain was conditional upon the improvements which have been secured.