§ Mr. EffordTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department of the Macpherson inquiry recommendations; and if he will make a statement. [80537]
277W
§ Janet AndersonI refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 14 April 1999,Official Report, columns 238–39.
My Department has a major part to play in helping to build an inclusive and diverse society. We are seeking to secure race equality and cultural diversity objectives in the funding agreements made between DCMS and its sponsored bodies; in monitoring the Lottery distributors' new strategies; in setting the agenda of the new DCMS regional consortiums and in encouraging the development of local authority cultural strategies. I am following developments in the media as broadcasters and programme makers examine their role in engaging ethnic minorities as audiences and in creative roles. My Department has enlisted the support of prominent sports people and clubs in portraying racism in sport as unwanted and unacceptable.
The Permanent Secretary has signed, on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the joint Charter for Action to redress the under-representation of ethnic minorities in the Senior Civil Service (SCS). The Department has adopted the targets for ethnic minorities in the Senior Civil Service (3.5 per cent. by 2005) published in the modernising government White Paper. The Department is considering a number of measures aimed at increasing representation in the higher grades, including the development of staff with potential in the feeder grades and more direct recruitment at higher levels.