§ Mr. VazTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what publicity was given to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office recruitment event270W held on 17 June, aimed at attracting ethnic minority and disabled graduates; what criteria were used for selecting invitees; and which (a) members of the Press and (b) Press organisations, were informed in advance of the event. [47865]
§ Mr. Tony LloydFollowing consultations between Recruitment Section and Mr. Spencer, our Minority Ethnic Liaison Officer, a strategy was devised to ensure that publicity for the FCO Recruitment Fair was directed at our target audiences—those undergraduates or graduates with disabilities, or who were from minority ethnic groups. At the Afro-Caribbean Finance forum in February, partly financed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, all visitors to the FCO stand were invited to apply for invitations. "Advertorials" in the March editions of Eastern Eye, Asian Times, the Caribbean Times and New Nation advised readers to contact the FCO Recruitment Section for invitations. We approached 3 organisations—Windsor Fellowship, Workable and Project Fullemploy—to advise their members of the fair and to supply Recruitment Section with details of people to whom we could send invitations. In addition the Presidents of Asian and Afro-Caribbean Student Societies at British Universities were sent invitations which also asked them to bring up to 4 of their colleagues with them. The FCO also publicised the Fair at Community Forum events at Enfield, Peterborough, Walsall, Huddersfield, Preston, Durham, Redbridge, Nottingham, Tameside and Rugby.
In addition to the four publications in which we placed "advertorials" in March, the FCO invited to attend the fair all the UK national written and broadcast media and a wide range of media specialising in minority ethnic and disabled issues.
Over 2,000 invitations were issued and over 700 people attended the fair. Feedback on the day was very positive.