Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies Ethnic diversity in UK economics, published on 26 October; and what discussions they have had with universities about the diversity of academic staff.

The report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies makes an interesting contribution to understanding ethnic diversity in the academic discipline of economics. We welcome the findings which show ethnic diversity among academic economists and economics students is increasing over time. We also note that economics as a discipline faces similar issues to the higher education sector more widely.

Universities are independent institutions and are responsible for their own decisions on employment issues. We expect universities, like all employers, to give due consideration to their obligations under the Equality Act (2010) and the way their employment practices affect different people at different stages of their careers.