§ Jackie BallardTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 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. [39403]
§ Dr. David Clark[holding answer 29 April 1998]: Since 1 May 1997, I have appointed (or re-appointed) 35 men and 27 women to serve on the boards of non-departmental public bodies. Of these, seven man (78%) and two women (22%) were appointed to paid posts and 28 men (53%) and 25 women (47%) were appointed to unpaid posts.
The Government are committed to increasing the representation of women in public life. In support of this, my Department is drawing up an action plan for increasing the number of women and ethnic minorities holding public appointments.