To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many officials of his Department have in the past been seconded to work with DGIII; what part such secondees played in drafting the European Commission discussion document on nutritional supplements produced in December 1991; if they have now (a) returned to placement with his Department, (b) remain with DGIII or (c) obtained employment with pharmaceutical companies; and if he will make a statement. [35097]

[pursuant to his reply, 18 July 1995, c. 1058]: I can now inform the hon. Member that the member of staff who returned to the Department in 1992 resigned from the Department in 1994 to take up a post in a pharmaceutical company. I understand that this company is not involved in producing dietary supplements.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what measures his Department has taken to encourage the promotion of women into senior positions within his Department and its executive agencies. [35628]

The Ministry, including its executive agencies, has in place a comprehensive programme aimed at improving the recruitment, retention and development of women staff particularly in the middle and senior management grades and in those specialist scientific, professional and technical areas where the proportion of women is relatively low.Priorities under this programme include the provision of assistance with child care and the encouragement of the wider use of alternative working patterns. The Ministry also runs a career break scheme which provides for periods of unpaid leave of up to five years to enable staff to cope with domestic responsibilities such as caring for children or elderly relatives.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list (a) the number of (i) male and (ii) female employees, (b) the number of officials employed at each of the principal grades and the numbers and percentages of women employed at these grades and (c) the number of staff employed at administrative grades and the number and percentage of these staff that are women, in his Department and for each of its executive agencies for each year since 1985. [35690]

[holding answer 19 July 1995]: The information requested for permanent non-industrial staff in my Department including executive agencies on 1 April 1995 is as follows:

(a) Total male staff

6,028;

Total female staff

4,651

(b) Grade	Total officials	Women employed	Percentage women
1	1	0	0
2	6	1	17
3	23	1	4
4	14	1	8
5	104	9	9
6	160	18	11
7	934	173	19
SEO	681	131	19
HEO	2,147	601	28
EO	2,410	904	38
(c)
AO	2,407	1,566	65
AA	1,792	1,246	70

The information is provisional. It is not separately available for executive agencies. Casual and seasonal staff are excluded. For earlier years, the information is not available in the form requested but details by grade and gender for the Department as a whole, including executive agencies, can be found in civil service statistics for each year from 1985 to 1994—copies available in the Library. Details for 1995 will be published later this year.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list for each civil service grade in his Department the number of (a) male and (b) female and (i) full-time and (ii) part-time employees. [35469]

[holding answer 19 July 1995]: The numbers of permanent non-industrial staff on 1 April 1995 in my Department were as follows: