§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the result was of his review of ethnic minority origin categories for the 2001 census; and what measures he will take to include the Irish in Britain among the categories used for monitoring recruitment and other activities that may benefit from equal opportunities best practice. [153808]
§ Mr. WilsonThere was no review of ethnic minority origin categories for the 2001 census. My Department follows Cabinet Office guidance with respect to the use of ethnic minority origin categories for monitoring purposes. New guidance is expected shortly which will include the Irish in British category. Our ethnic monitoring questionnaire will be updated over the next year and the new categories will be used from April 2002, in line with Cabinet Office guidance.