§ Mr. WillisTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many people were employed by his Department in each of the years from 1993–94 to 1998–99; if he will break down the total into the categories(a) male, (b) female, (c) registered disability and (d) ethnic minority; and if his Department has an equal opportunities policy. [88684]
§ Mr. MudieThe following table shows the breakdown of staff figures in DfEE from 1993–94 to 1998–99:
Total employed (a) Male (b) Female (c) Registered disability (d) Ethnic minority 1 April 1993 8,978 3,950 5,028 — — 1 April 1994 6,561 2,887 3,674 — — 1 April 1995 5,683 2,500 3,183 — — 1 April 1996 5,212 2,345 2,867 240 324 1 April 1997 4,795 2,206 2,589 226 312 1 April 1998 3,956 1,838 2,118 191 310 1 April 1999 4,094 1,874 2,220 247 347 DfEE has a comprehensive Equal Opportunities Strategy which overarches our proactive equal opportunities action plans. Equality of opportunity is central to the achievement of DfEE's objectives and values. It is about the effectiveness of everything we do—how we manage ourselves, how we develop policy and how we deliver services. The Department is committed to being an equal opportunities employers. We value and welcome diversity and aim to develop all our staff to enable them to make a full contribution to meeting the Department's objectives, and to fulfil their own potential on merit. DfEE will not tolerate harassment or other unfair discrimination on grounds of sex, marital status, race, colour, nationality, ethnic origin, disability, age, religion or sexual orientation. We will promote and support the use of a range of flexible working patterns to enable staff to balance home and work responsibilities; and we will treat people fairly irrespective of their working arrangements.