§ Lord Lester of Herne Hillasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will introduce measures to encourage the recruitment and promotion of members of ethnic minorities within the Armed Forces, and, if not, why not.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Earl Howe)We already employ a range of measures to recruit more ethnic minorities to the98WA Armed Forces. These include better representation of ethnic minority Service personnel in recruiting literature and advertisements, advertising in the ethnic minority press, production of brochures in ethnic minority languages for the benefit of parents, and development of personal contacts between the three Service Directorates of Recruiting and local ethnic minority communities. An independent consultant is currently conducting a review of our equal opportunities policies. Promotion in the Armed Forces is solely on merit, regardless of ethnic origin. The Armed Forces are subject to the Race Relations Act 1976, and are fully committed to a policy of non-discrimination on grounds of ethnic origin.
§ Lord Lester of Herne Hillasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the Ministry of Defence will make an assessment of the attitudes of members of the Armed Forces towards the recruitment and promotion of members of ethnic minorities.