§ Mr. Peter AinsworthTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people from ethnic minorities are employed in(a) her Department, (b) the Countryside Agency and (c) the Environment Agency. [48204]
§ Margaret Beckett[holding answer 10 April 2002]: In common with all other Government Departments, DEFRA is currently conducting a re-survey of all staff. As at 15 March 4,889 (70 per cent.) of the core Department's workforce had declared their ethnic origin. Of these 384 are from ethnic minorities. This is equivalent to 7.9 per cent. of those who have declared their ethnic origin, or 5 per cent. of all staff in the Department.
The Countryside Agency do not at present compile this information, although they are planning to introduce a personnel database in the near future that will hold such information.
As at 28 March 2002, all bar 109 of the Environment Agency's 10,824 employees had declared their ethnic origin. Of these, 178 (1.64 per cent.) are from ethnic minorities. The Agency has in place a Diversity policy, with action plans being developed to improve the attractiveness of the Agency to members of the ethnic minority communities.