asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many women are members of the senior Civil Service (SCS) in each government department; and what percentage of each department's total number of members of the SCS that represents. [HL5200]
The number of women in the senior Civil Service (SCS) in each government department and the percentage of the total number of each department's SCS who are women (as at October 2007) are set out in the following table:
Current department Number of Women % of Senior Civil Servants Assets Recovery Agency 1 33 Cabinet Office 54 35 Central Office of Information 4 31 Charity Commission 5 42 Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service 14 40 Crown Prosecution Service 12 36 Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform 62 32 Department for Children, Schools and Families 46 42 Department for Communities and Local Government 68 48 Department for Culture, Media and Sport 8 24 Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 51 27 Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills 15 29 Department for International Development 34 36 Department for Transport 44 24 Department for Work and Pensions 107 37 Department of Health 154 40 Estyn (HM Inspectorate for Education and Training in Wales) 4 100 Export Credits Guarantee Department 2 14 Food Standards Agency 14 38 Foreign and Commonwealth Office 12 30 Government Communications Headquarters 5 13 Government Offices for The Regions 31 47 Health and Safety Executive 12 24 HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate 1 33 HM Revenue and Customs 106 25 HM Treasury 35 32 Home Office 54 30 Land Registry 11 32 Ministry of Defence 28 11 Ministry of Justice 77 34 National Archives 3 50 National Savings and Investments 2 22 National School of Government 6 55 NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency (PASA) 1 13 Northern Ireland Office 4 21 Office for National Statistics 13 26 Office for Standards In Education 13 54 Office of Fair Trading 10 31 Office of Gas and Electricity Markets 6 32 Office of Government Commerce 10 32 Office of Rail Regulation 5 33 Ordnance Survey 2 40 Parliamentary Counsel Office 17 39 Postal Services Commission 2 33 Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office 2 25 Scottish Executive 85 34 Serious Fraud Office 3 27 Treasury Solicitor’s Department 32 45 Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat) 3 43 Welsh Assembly Government 50 34 Total 1340 32
Note: Data are based on departmental returns and where applicable reflect numbers in post at October 2007, irrespective of funding arrangements. It excludes some civil servants who work at a senior level, such as senior diplomatic and military personnel (source: Cabinet Office SCS database).
The next diversity strategy for the Civil Service, Promoting Equality, Valuing Diversity—a Strategy for the Civil Service, was launched on 17 July 2008 and includes new diversity targets for the SCS:
39 per cent of the senior Civil Service to be women;
34 per cent of top management posts to be held by women;
5 per cent of the senior Civil Service to be minority ethnic staff; and
5 per cent of the senior Civil Service to be disabled people.
The aim is to reach these targets within five years, with a stretch target of doing so within three years, and we will publish progress against them every six months. These targets will be underpinned by diversity targets for the SCS in each government department, as well as for their feeder grade populations and grades below where there is under-representation in particular groups.