§ Mr. SinghTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many appointments to quangos he made between(a) 1 June 1997 and 31 May 1998 and (b) 1 June 1998 and 31 May 1999; and in each case of those how many were members of Britain's (i) Asian and (ii) ethnic minority communities. [92127]
§ Mr. Tony LloydThe Secretary of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and his Ministers made(a) 21 appointments between 1 June 1997 and 31 May 1998 and (b) 40 between 1 June 1998 and 31 May 1999.
In (a) one appointee was a member of Britain's Asian community.
In (b) six appointees were members of ethnic minority groups, not all were Asian.
731WThe Foreign and Commonwealth Office is committed to increasing the percentage of women, and members of minority ethnic groups appointed to FCO sponsored NDPBs. The FCO departmental action plan for NDPB's sets objectives and targets for improving representation in these groups. Full details can be found in "Opening up Public Appointments" pages 18 and 19. This was deposited in the Libraries of both Houses on 25 May 1999.