Oral Answers to Questions

Baroness Featherstone Excerpts

Thursday 22nd July 2010 Commons Chamber

[Eric Ollerenshaw (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Con)]

3. What discussions she has had with ministerial colleagues on increasing recruitment to the civil service from black, Asian and other minority ethnic people.

[The Minister for Equalities (Lynne Featherstone)]

Black, Asian and other minority ethnic representation in the civil service has been increasing steadily, and is broadly representative of the economically active population. We are committed to attracting the best talent from the widest possible pool of candidates. They have been targeted, and successful efforts have been made to render the civil service and the fast stream more diverse. My Cabinet Office colleagues are examining the range of BAME internships run by the Departments, and I expect to have discussions with them on the matter in due course.

[Eric Ollerenshaw]

We all welcome the Government’s announced policy on internships for under-represented minorities. How much progress has been made on that vital policy so far?

[Lynne Featherstone]

It is nice that my hon. Friend and I are together again after our time on the Greater London assembly, along with many Opposition Members.

The work relating to our commitment is still at an early stage. It is important for us to build on existing programmes. Some Whitehall Departments already run internships in the summer development programme. The Cabinet Office is examining current practice and future options, and I look forward to working with it in due course to ensure that the practice is extended to all Departments.

[Katy Clark (North Ayrshire and Arran) (Lab)]

This year’s Budget cut the budget of the Equality and Human Rights Commission by 15%, and further cuts are expected. Does the Minister believe that the commission will be able to continue to carry out its statutory duties, and can she tell us what impact the cut will have on the initiatives to which she has referred?

[Lynne Featherstone]

There have been cuts in all budgets. The EHRC will probably concentrate on its core functions, and I expect its budget to be sufficient to enable it to deliver the equality that we all require from it.

[Sarah Newton (Truro and Falmouth) (Con)]

4. What discussions she has had with ministerial colleagues on proposals to extend flexible working arrangements in the public sector.

[The Minister for Equalities (Lynne Featherstone)]

I have had several discussions with colleagues on how we can implement our commitment to extending the right to request flexible working to all. That, of course, includes those in the public sector, which has a long and successful track record in this regard. In my Department, for example, 57% of staff work flexibly, and all vacancies are advertised as being available on a flexible basis. We will seek to share that and other good practice in the public sector more widely.

[Sarah Newton]

Flexible working enabled me to balance caring for my husband and children with working. Without that opportunity, I probably would not be standing here today. Does my hon. Friend agree that the Government’s plan to extend the right to request flexible working to all employees is the most progressive measure to encourage a culture of flexible working that any Government have yet been able to promise?

[Lynne Featherstone]

Hear, hear. I am glad to learn that flexible working has been an enabler in my hon. Friend’s life, as it will be in so many other lives. Flexible working and the right to extend it to all will enable businesses to draw on all the skills and talents in the country, and on a wider pool of skill. It will improve recruitment and retention rates and increase staff morale and productivity, and we will all gain from that.

[Julian Smith (Skipton and Ripon) (Con)]

6. What progress the Government have made on the provision of a system of flexible parental leave.

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[Simon Kirby (Brighton, Kemptown) (Con)]

7. What recent discussions she has had with her international counterparts on international standards for the treatment of openly lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

[The Minister for Equalities (Lynne Featherstone)]

Last month we published “Working for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Equality”, which included a commitment to use our international influence to encourage other countries to advance LGBT equality. I am committed to using meetings with international counterparts and any other levers open to us to tear down the barriers that still exist for LGBT people throughout Europe and around the world.

[Simon Kirby]

Will the Government use their influence to support the UN statement that calls on states to ensure that sexual orientation or gender identity may under no circumstance be used for discrimination or criminal proceedings?

[Lynne Featherstone]

This is such an important area in which we can use our influence and we will encourage more countries to support the UN statement on the decriminalisation of LGBT issues. We will robustly examine the human rights records of other UN member states as well.