HL Deb 22 July 2002 vol 638 cc8-10WA
Baroness Thomas of Walliswood

asked Her Majesty's Government:

In respect of the Home Office, the Department for Education and Skills, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Scotland Office and the Northern Ireland Office, what new data series separated by gender, race, disability and age have been commissioned by each department since June 1997 up to the present. [HL4453]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Filkin)

The following responses are listed by department.

The Home Office:

Since August 1997 the Research, Development and Statistics Directorate of the Home Office has commissioned the following data series (including further exercises of regular on-going surveys):

  1. (i) The 2001 Home Office Citizenship Survey collects information on sex, race, disability and age. Reports on the Citizenship Survey planned for 2002 will analyse the data by sex, race and ethnicity.
  2. (ii) The 2000 sweeps of the British Crime Survey incorporated ethnic "booster samples". This has allowed the experience of ethnic minorities with respect to both crime victimisation risk and other experience and views regarding the police and other parts of the CJS. From January 2001 the BCS has moved to an annual cycle with a permanent ethnic boost.
  3. (iii) From 1 April 1999 the information collected by the Home Office on police arrests was extended to provide information for persons arrested for notifiable offences by ethnic appearance of suspect gender, age group and offence group.
  4. (iv) From 1 April 2001 police forces have been asked to provide returns on the number of racist crimes recorded by ethnic appearance of victim, offence group, age group and gender of victim and detection rate. Currently this return is voluntary and it is currently proposed that it will become mandatory from 1 April 2003.

In addition to new data series the Government, through various departments, have commissioned, conducted themselves or contributed to a number of one-off or time-limited exercises, yielding information including one or more of these dimensions.

Department for Education and Skills:

Statistics published by the Department for Education and Skills routinely include breakdowns by gender and age, except (in the latter case) where they relate to programmes for children or young people of a specific age (for example national curriculum assessments).

In the early years and childcare field, a number of survey series have been introduced since 1997. The topics covered include parents of three and four year-old children and their use of early years services, parents' demand for childcare and the childcare workforce. The data collected include gender, age, ethnicity and disability, and analyses are published accordingly where sample sizes allow.

Since 1997 the department has developed and implemented a Pupil Level Annual Schools Census (PLASC), collecting far more detailed data than hitherto from maintained schools. Data were collected for all maintained school pupils for the first time in January 2002 and are being linked with their key stage and examination achievements as they occur. These data will allow far more detailed investigation of the impact of gender, ethnicity, special educational needs and other factors on the experiences and achievements of school pupils and new analyses or series will be published from this source in due course.

Since 1997 the department has introduced several new statistical series on young people and adults embarking on government-supported training, their qualification achievements and subsequent destinations. These include breakdowns by some or all of gender, ethnicity, disability and literacy/numeracy need.

In 2000 a new series was introduced on the level of highest qualification held by young people and adults of working age, including breakdowns by gender, age and ethnicity. This was a new analysis of data from the long-standing Labour Force Survey.

The department, in collaboration with the Office for National Statistics and the Department for Work and Pensions, introduced the English Local Labour Force Survey in 2000, a new annual exercise expanding on the Labour Force Survey. First results from the enlarged survey were published in 2001, including a wide range of qualifications and labour market analyses with breakdowns by gender, age, ethnicity and disability.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

The June Agricultural Census collects data on employment in agriculture and horticulture broken down by gender, and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) also runs a survey which collects information on the earnings of these workers by gender. However, no new questions were introduced with the creation of Defra. In 2003 a labour survey will be conducted as part of the EC farm structure surveys. This will ask questions broken down by age and gender.

Defra's draft Equality Scheme, required under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act, sets out the actions required to meet the duty, and over time it is possible that this will lead to the commissioning of new data series on ethnicity if this is identified as being necessary.

Internally, data are collected on gender, disability, age and race. Personnel procedures which may have an impact on applicants and staff are monitored, broken down by gender race, and disability and sometimes also by age. A new monitoring programme is being finalised which will take account of the requirements of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act and, as far as possible, forthcoming legislation on sexual orientation, religion and age.