Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many and what proportion of officials in his Department were hired via positive action schemes in the last financial year.

All Civil Service departments work within the Recruitment Principles, as regulated by

the Civil Service Commission, to recruit using a fair and open process and appoint on

Departments will only limit a campaign to a specific group as a form of positive action

as a proportionate response to achieve a legitimate aim as defined in section 159 of

the Equality Act 2010.

The Civil Service is committed to a diverse workforce and culture of openness and

inclusivity - not as ends in themselves but as means of delivering better outcomes to

the citizens we serve.

The Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2022-25 Promoting Fairness and Performance,

published in February 2022, is positioned as an essential lever to deliver a Modern

Civil Service, where our values are to serve with integrity, honesty, objectivity and

impartiality; driving our vision to be a skilled, innovative and ambitious Civil Service

equipped for the future. This strategy sets out a broader definition of diversity, to

include geographical, social and career backgrounds alongside the protected groups.

As set out in the Civil Service People Plan 2024 - 2027, we are committed to

ensuring we attract, develop and retain talented people from a diverse range of

backgrounds, to create a modern Civil Service, now and for the future.