§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Bach)My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Mr Ivor Caplin) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
In accordance with undertakings in its Race Equality Scheme, the Ministry of Defence has produced a second progress report, a copy of which is being placed today in the Library of the House. The report builds on and relates back to the first report, issued in January 2004, and describes the progress made across the department and by the Armed Forces. It emphasises our determination to maintain the standards we have achieved to date and to continue to review our policies and procedures.
Our record for managing and retaining ethnic minority personnel is good. The outcome of staff attitude surveys and the low level of race-related complaints indicate a continuing improvement in the race equality climate.
However, there is still much more work to do as the report acknowledges. The Ministry of Defence is committed to meeting the aspirations set out in the Race Equality Scheme.