HC Deb 12 July 2000 vol 353 cc566-7W
Mr. Allan

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what percentage of the(a) paid and (b) unpaid appointments which he has made to non-departmental public bodies since 1 May 1997 were women. [129848]

Dr. Moonie

The following figures apply to appointments and reappointments made to Ministry of Defence non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) since 1 May 1997:

  1. (a) paid: five women; 19 per cent. of all appointments
  2. (b) unpaid: nine women; 17 per cent. of all appointments.

These figures include appointments not made by the Secretary of State for Defence, such as appointments to the Armed Forces Pay Review Body, which are made by the Prime Minister. They exclude appointments made to bodies which have been declassified as NDPBs since 1 May 1997, such as the subcommittees of the Defence Scientific Advisory Council.

Within the overriding principle of selection based on merit, MOD is committed to increasing diversity in appointments to its NDPBs and raising the representation of women, people from ethnic minority groups and disabled people in line with government-wide objectives.