§ Ms WardTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what proportion of places on lay observers' panels are not filled; [152593]
(2) what the (a) gender and (b) ethnic breakdown is for members of lay observers' panels in England and Wales in each of the past five years. [152594]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeAs at 1 March 2001 the eight Lay Observers Panels covering all of England and Wales had a total of 169 members. There were also 12 vacancies.
The membership comprises 122 males and 47 females. 10 Lay Observers are from the minority ethnic communities. Of these eight are of Afro/Caribbean background and the remaining two are Asian.
Historical data about the composition of the Lay Observers Panels are not kept and it is not possible to provide information in respect of the years 1997 to 2000.