§ Lord Lester of Herne Hillasked Her Majesty's Government:
What steps they are taking in response to the observations about disproportionately low levels of participation by members of minority groups in the Government and Civil Service, particularly the police and prison service, by the United Nations Human Rights Committee in its concluding observations of 29 October on the Fifth Periodic Report of the United Kingdom. [HL1300]
§ The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Rooker)The Government are committed to encouraging greater participation of under-represented groups in public life. We are leading the way in ensuring that the public sector sets the pace in promoting race equality and diversity both within its own workforce and in the delivery of its services. The provisions contained in the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, in particular the duty placed on public bodies to promote race equality, represent a key component of the Government's work to encourage greater equality.
The second annual report (published on 14 November) on progress towards meeting the Home Secretary's employment targets for the recruitment, retention and career progression of minority ethnic staff within the Home Office and its service areas confirmed that representation of minority ethnic staff has increased since the previous report last October.
The Government have also published (in February 2001) their second set of race equality indicators in public services and the third edition is likely to be published in February/March 2002. These indicators are designed to provide a robust performance management system for public bodies to use in monitoring their progress towards race equality.
The Government believe that these measures provide an effective framework for increasing the representation of minority ethnic communities in public life.