asked the Secretary of State for Employment why the Race Relations Advisory Board is being continued; and to what extent its functions duplicate the work of the Commission for Racial Equality.

If the reference is to the Race Relations Employment Advisory Group chaired by my noble Friend the Minister of State for Employment, the group is being continued because it provides Ministers with useful practical advice on matters relating to the employment of the ethnic minorities at negligible cost. The functions of the group, which includes the chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality among its membership, do not duplicate the work of the CRE, which has itself sought views from the group on a number of issues.