Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the proportion of ethnic minorities in the senior civil service.

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.

As at 1 October 2013, the proportion of senior civil servants who declared that they are from an ethnic minority background is 3.8%.

We believe that for too long talent management in the Civil Service has been weak and the Government plans to address this as part of its ongoing programme of Civil Service reform.