§ 16. Fiona MactaggartTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the proportion of ethnic minorities and women that have been appointed to public bodies in the past 12 months. [40134]
§ Mr. LeslieInformation contained in Public Bodies 2001 which was published on 14 February 2002, shows that as at 31 March 2001, women held 34 per cent. of appointments made to the boards of public bodies, and people from ethnic minority backgrounds held 4.8 per cent. of appointments. This is an increase of one per cent. and 0.4 per cent. respectively on the previous year.
In addition, also published on 14 February 2002 was "Public Bodies: Opening up Public Appointments 2002–05". This publication contains individual departmental plans to increase diversity in public appointments.