Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what targets No. 10 Downing Street has for increasing diversity; and what progress has been made on meeting those targets in the last year.

To win the global race we need the best civil servants regardless of their background so we must recruit, retain and promote on the basis of merit. We want to see more talented people, whatever their background, reach the very top roles.

There has been for many years a majority of women in the Civil Service but this was not reflected into the Senior Civil Service.

Although there has been a small increase in the proportion of women in the Senior Civil Service since 2010, and in the proportion of civil servants who declare that they are from an ethnic minority background, there is still much to do.

We know that for too long talent management in the Civil Service has been weak. That's why I have commissioned research to examine the blockages preventing women from reaching the most senior levels of the Civil Service.

A plan to address these issues will be published this summer.