Asked by: Keith Vaz (Labour - Leicester East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Prime Minister, what the total number of special advisers working at Number 10 is, by (a) gender and (b) ethnic minority background.
Answered by Theresa May
A list of special advisers was published on 21st December 2016, and copies have been placed in the libraries of both Houses. Information on the gender and ethnicity of special advisers is not routinely collected.
Asked by: Keith Vaz (Labour - Leicester East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Prime Minister, when she last held discussions with President Putin.
Answered by Theresa May
I held a bilateral meeting with President Putin in the margins of the G20 Summit in September. Discussions covered Syria and our bilateral relationship.
Asked by: Keith Vaz (Labour - Leicester East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Prime Minister, when she last held discussions with President Hadi of Yemen.
Answered by Theresa May
I have not yet held discussions with the President of Yemen though the UK engages regularly with President Hadi. Most recently, Minister Ellwood called President Hadi on 15 January.
The UK government continues to stress to all parties that a political solution is the best way to bring long-term stability to Yemen and end the conflict.
Asked by: Keith Vaz (Labour - Leicester East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Prime Minister, when she last met the Secretary General of the Commonwealth.
Answered by Theresa May
I met the Secretary General of the Commonwealth at the UN General Assembly in September 2016. The Minister for the Commonwealth, The Rt Hon. Baroness Anelay of St Johns DBE, meets regularly with the Secretary General, and did so most recently on 21 December 2016.
Asked by: Keith Vaz (Labour - Leicester East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of EU citizens who have entered the UK since 23 June 2016.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
Asked by: Keith Vaz (Labour - Leicester East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Prime Minister, what discussions she has had with King Salman on her visit to the Gulf in December 2016 on the situation in Yemen; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Theresa May
I discussed a range of issues with King Salman related to the Gulf Region. The UK Government has been clear that we want to see a durable ceasefire and the resumption of peace talks because a political solution is the best way to bring long-term stability to Yemen.
Asked by: Keith Vaz (Labour - Leicester East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will extend the proposed audit of public services to reveal racial disparities to all organisations and companies which provide (a) car insurance and (b) other consumer services required by law.
Answered by Ben Gummer
All companies and other organisations that provide a service to the public are legally obliged under the Equality Act 2010 to ensure no race discrimination occurs. The Race Disparity Audit was set up to identify and analyse racial disparities in public services, working with data from Government departments and their arm’s length bodies to build a complete and accurate picture across the country. This is a unique and ambitious undertaking and there are no current plans to extend it beyond public services.
Asked by: Keith Vaz (Labour - Leicester East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of Senior Civil Service roles are occupied by people from BME backgrounds.
Answered by Matt Hancock
In 2015, the proportion of senior civil servants from black and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds was 4.1%; and the proportion of the whole civil service workforce from BAME background was 10.6% as I set out in my recent speech https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/addressing-inequality-in-the-public-sector-and-beyond-matt-hancock-speech.
While BAME representation throughout the civil service workforce is consistent with the economically active population, in order for the civil service to reflect diversity of Modern Britain we need to do more to increase BAME representation in the senior civil service. We have increased capacity of summer diversity internships and the Positive Action Pathway programme and will soon launch ‘Accelerate’ (a development programme for SCS from BAME backgrounds to reach the most senior grades within the Civil Service). We anticipate that over time these and other initiatives will result in an increase in the proportion of the SCS coming from BAME backgrounds.
The proportion of applicants and appointments from BME backgrounds to the Civil Service Fast Stream from 2012 to 2014 are listed in the table below.
Data on the 2015 cohort is due to be released later this year in the 2015 Fast Stream Annual Report.
Proportion from an ethnic minority background – Civil Service Fast Stream (all schemes) | Applicants | Appointments |
2014 | 19.4% | 14.2% |
2013 | 18% | 13.6% |
2012 | 16.9% | 12.8% |
Asked by: Keith Vaz (Labour - Leicester East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of the Civil Service workforce is from BME backgrounds.
Answered by Matt Hancock
In 2015, the proportion of senior civil servants from black and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds was 4.1%; and the proportion of the whole civil service workforce from BAME background was 10.6% as I set out in my recent speech https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/addressing-inequality-in-the-public-sector-and-beyond-matt-hancock-speech.
While BAME representation throughout the civil service workforce is consistent with the economically active population, in order for the civil service to reflect diversity of Modern Britain we need to do more to increase BAME representation in the senior civil service. We have increased capacity of summer diversity internships and the Positive Action Pathway programme and will soon launch ‘Accelerate’ (a development programme for SCS from BAME backgrounds to reach the most senior grades within the Civil Service). We anticipate that over time these and other initiatives will result in an increase in the proportion of the SCS coming from BAME backgrounds.
The proportion of applicants and appointments from BME backgrounds to the Civil Service Fast Stream from 2012 to 2014 are listed in the table below.
Data on the 2015 cohort is due to be released later this year in the 2015 Fast Stream Annual Report.
Proportion from an ethnic minority background – Civil Service Fast Stream (all schemes) | Applicants | Appointments |
2014 | 19.4% | 14.2% |
2013 | 18% | 13.6% |
2012 | 16.9% | 12.8% |
Asked by: Keith Vaz (Labour - Leicester East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of applicants to the Civil Service Fast Stream are (a) from BME backgrounds and (b) successful and from BME backgrounds.
Answered by Matt Hancock
In 2015, the proportion of senior civil servants from black and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds was 4.1%; and the proportion of the whole civil service workforce from BAME background was 10.6% as I set out in my recent speech https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/addressing-inequality-in-the-public-sector-and-beyond-matt-hancock-speech.
While BAME representation throughout the civil service workforce is consistent with the economically active population, in order for the civil service to reflect diversity of Modern Britain we need to do more to increase BAME representation in the senior civil service. We have increased capacity of summer diversity internships and the Positive Action Pathway programme and will soon launch ‘Accelerate’ (a development programme for SCS from BAME backgrounds to reach the most senior grades within the Civil Service). We anticipate that over time these and other initiatives will result in an increase in the proportion of the SCS coming from BAME backgrounds.
The proportion of applicants and appointments from BME backgrounds to the Civil Service Fast Stream from 2012 to 2014 are listed in the table below.
Data on the 2015 cohort is due to be released later this year in the 2015 Fast Stream Annual Report.
Proportion from an ethnic minority background – Civil Service Fast Stream (all schemes) | Applicants | Appointments |
2014 | 19.4% | 14.2% |
2013 | 18% | 13.6% |
2012 | 16.9% | 12.8% |