Question

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures they have in place to monitor the diversity of (1) Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic, and (2) LGBT, persons serving as directors of public companies.

Under the Companies Act listed companies are required to report on diversity, including gender, in their annual reports. Company reporting is overseen by the Financial Reporting Council and companies are required to follow the UK Corporate Governance Code on a comply-or-explain basis.

In September 2014 FRC published an updated Code, including changes to the preface reinforcing the importance of diversity in all its forms on the board. This includes, but is not limited to, gender and race.

At the launch on 15^th December 2014, the Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills welcomed a new private sector-led campaign which will look to address the lack of ethnic diversity in boardrooms, based in part on research that indicates the proportion of Black & Ethnic Minority people in leadership positions is lower than expected compared to the wider population (estimated at 5.1% and 14% respectively). Measuring progress is a key part of the campaign.