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Oral Answers to Questions
CABINET OFFICE
The Minister was asked--
Civil Service (Ethnic Minorities)
1. Mr. Ben Chapman (Wirral, South): What his plans are for encouraging the recruitment of ethnic minorities to the civil service. [90870]
The Minister for the Cabinet Office (Dr. Jack Cunningham): The "Modernising Government" White Paper set out the Government's commitment to increasing ethnic minority representation in the civil service, particularly at senior levels. The Government have set a target to double the number of senior civil servants from ethnic minority backgrounds to 3.2 per cent. by 2005.
Mr. Chapman: I am grateful for that response and I congratulate the Government on their announcements. Does my right hon. Friend agree that it is not just in the higher civil service that there is a problem and that we need fair representation of ethnic minorities at all levels in the civil service? This issue should be tackled now, not just by the target year. We must take a systemic, root-and-branch approach to get people from ethnic minorities into the civil service and to change the climate so as to attract them. Will my right hon. Friend tell me what is being done now by way of secondment, recruitment policy and attachment from industry to change the climate in the public services to attract more people from ethnic minorities into their orbit?
Dr. Cunningham: I agree with everything my hon. Friend said. In truth, the performance of the civil service on the recruitment and promotion of people from ethnic communities has been poor, and the situation is unsatisfactory. That is why we have set that target but, as my hon. Friend will know, we are not simply setting a target and doing nothing else. We have announced a number of interim measures, and we shall announce further measures in the autumn. In the meantime, I shall appoint a senior ethnic minority adviser and an outreach worker to help to increase recruitment and secondment. We shall provide new opportunities for work experience for ethnic minority school children and students. We shall hold open days and careers fairs for ethnic minority undergraduates and young people. We are producing a video of ethnic minority role models already in the civil service. We are taking all those measures to attract more able young people from ethnic minority communities into the public service.
Sir Sydney Chapman (Chipping Barnet): As I am sure that the Government want to set an example in this area, will the right hon. Gentleman tell the House how many special advisers to Ministers are drawn from ethnic minorities?
Dr. Cunningham: I cannot give an accurate answer to that question off the top of my head. I suspect that there may be none, but I am not altogether sure so I shall write to the hon. Gentleman and let him know.
Mr. Piara S. Khabra (Ealing, Southall): Does my right hon. Friend agree that some employees are still not
prepared to accept the new policy? If they continue the practice of discrimination, what steps does he propose to take against them?
Dr. Cunningham: I hope that there are no individuals in the civil service who do not subscribe to the Government's clear policy objectives in these matters. However, the Schneider Ross report, which I published a couple of weeks ago, emphasised the need for a culture change in the senior management of the civil service, and we are taking action with the help and strong personal commitment of the Cabinet Secretary, Sir Richard Wilson, to make the necessary changes in the civil service at all levels.
Genetically Modified Foods
2. Mr. Desmond Swayne (New Forest, West): What endorsement the Government have sought from the National Consumer Council with regard to its policy on genetically modified foods. [90871]
The Minister for the Cabinet Office (Dr. Jack Cunningham): Ministers discuss the development of Government policies with a large number of groups that have an interest in genetically modified foods, including the National Consumer Council.
Mr. Swayne: I suspected that the Minister would not go further than that. Does he agree that the leaked minute of the biotechnology presentation group on 10 May has been of great interest to a number of parties? It has funded an enormous number of questions, not least to the right hon. Gentleman. In the interests of open government, modernisation and the new politics, will he undertake to publish the minutes of that group to ensure that we continue to enjoy them in this way? Have independent spokesmen been placed on the "Today" programme, as the minute suggested?
Dr. Cunningham: I always welcome contributions to debates on this and other subjects from independently minded people on any programme, let alone "Today".
The hon. Gentleman said that the leaking of the minute had generated a great deal of interest. It certainly seems to have motivated him as we had exactly the same exchange of views in the Chamber a month ago and the answer was exactly the same: no.
Mr. Nigel Beard (Bexleyheath and Crayford):
What steps are being taken to protect field trials of genetically modified crops from vandalism? If such trials do not take place, there will be no basis for judgment of the environmental impact of GM crops, and a major biotechnological opportunity for Britain may be lost.
Dr. Cunningham:
This is a serious and difficult situation. It is deplorable that, while some environmental groups are calling for trials precisely so that we can gauge and examine the potential impact of genetically modified crops on biodiversity, other groups are trashing the experiments, wrecking the crops and preventing us securing the very evidence that we need in order to make an assessment and to make properly informed decisions. Disorder and criminal damage to property are, of course,
Mr. Norman Baker (Lewes):
Can the Government explain why they are allowing animal feed with genetically modified ingredients to be sold unlabelled, with no indication to farmers and consumers that such ingredients are present? Do not farmers and consumers have a right to know what they are buying?
Dr. Cunningham:
The explanation is that we inherited that situation. We decided to appoint an advisory committee on animal feedstuffs, which is being set up now. The previous Government received a recommendation suggesting that they should set up a committee but did not act on it. We are also considering the labelling issue.
Mr. Derek Wyatt (Sittingbourne and Sheppey):
What point has the discussion on genetically modified food reached in the European Union? I am thinking especially of the changes that are due for agriculture beyond 2000. Is that discussion on the G8 agenda?
Dr. Cunningham:
Given the current state of affairs, few agendas do not include an item referring to biosciences or to genetically modified food or crops. I assure my hon. Friend that there are continuing discussions in the European Union on labelling and other matters such as the implications for biodiversity. As he will recall, the Cologne summit decided to ask the scientific committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development to examine all these issues on an international basis, and we shall make a positive contribution to that examination.
Mr. David Curry (Skipton and Ripon):
Does the right hon. Gentleman realise just how limp his reply was on the subject of vandalism against genetically modified crops? Does he realise that that vandalism is being committed against field trials? We will shortly be moving to whole-farm trials. How does he imagine that they will be protected from vandalism? Do the Government propose simply to stand by and wring their hands, or do they think that they must do something to protect the information that comes from the growing of genetically modified crops?
Dr. Cunningham:
Perhaps the right hon. Gentleman did not hear me properly. I said that such actions were deplorable, and I emphasise that yet again.
The right hon. Gentleman asks what we are going to do. The present policy position is that the grid references of all the trial sites are in the public domain. It is therefore very easy for those who want to engage in activities that the right hon. Gentleman rightly describes as unlawful to identify the locations and to destroy the crops. We are considering all the issues very carefully but, as the right hon. Gentleman must know, this too is a situation that we inherited from the previous Administration. We never anticipated that people who purport to act in the interests of the environment would wilfully wreck experiments that are intended to help us to a better understanding of the environmental issues involved.
Dr. George Turner (North-West Norfolk):
Further to the exchanges that have just taken place, does my right
Dr. Cunningham:
I am not sure that it is accurate to ascribe those activities to Greenpeace. Nevertheless, my hope is--I express it again today--that all organisations and groups that are interested in the health and well-being of people and the environment would want to participate in an open, well-informed, scientifically accurate debate about the issues, rather than seek to involve themselves in destroying the very evidence that will help us to take the policies forward.
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