§ Jackie BallardTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many and what percentage of the (i) paid and (ii) unpaid appointments which he has made to non-departmental public bodies since 1 May 1997 were women. [39408]
§ Mr. Chris SmithSince 1 May, 1 have made a total of 80 appointments including reappointments. Of these, 24 (30 per cent.) were women.
Women were appointed to 8 (36 per cent.) of the 22 paid appointments and to 16 (28 per cent.) of the 58 unpaid appointments.
The Government are committed to increasing the representation of women in public life. In support of this, my Department is currently drawing up an action plan for increasing the number of women and people from ethnic minority backgrounds holding public office.