Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2017 to Question 7037, on Civil Service recruitment, what the other initiatives are which are hoped to bring positive impacts to the diversity of Civil Service recruitment.

The Civil Service remains committed to becoming the most inclusive employer in the UK, these commitments are set out in the Civil Service Diversity & Inclusion Strategy attached, and also available in the house library. The Strategy sets out how we will build on work delivered as part of the Talent Action Plan to improve the representation of under-represented groups and encourage inclusive behaviours. These priorities will be underpinned by a greater focus on accountability and assurance to deliver better outcomes for a diverse UK.

The Civil Service aims to be at the forefront of the diversity and inclusion agenda, leading the way in developing diverse and inclusive practices, policies and cultures. For example;

• To drive the changes in representation, each department will set targets on the flow of ethnic minority staff and disabled staff into their SCS.
• A Diverse Leadership Task Force will be established to identify, recruit and develop people with Permanent Secretary potential from ethnic minority and disabled backgrounds.
• The ground breaking Ethnicity Diversity Programme will enable greater innovation and the spread of best practice on increasing the representation of ethnic minorities within our talent pipelines.
• The Disability Inclusion Programme will intensify efforts towards having a fair representation of disabled people at all levels but particularly the SCS.
• Industry standard metrics for inclusion across the Civil Service and other employers across the UK will be established.
• Inclusion will be seen as an essential leadership skill at senior levels in the Civil Service, but also as a basic core skill that all staff should demonstrate. Quality standards for inclusive leadership will be established and incorporated into the competency framework.