CABINET OFFICE News
Release issued by COI News Distribution Service. 12 November 2008
Government
Equalities Office news release
HRONIC UNDER-REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN, DISABLED, AND MINORITY
ETHNIC PEOPLE IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS
Harriet Harman, Leader of the House of Commons and Minister for
Women and Equality, will today say that for the first time
Parliament has acknowledged it is not representative of society,
and that it needs to change.
Ms Harman will open a debate in the House of Commons on a motion
to establish a Speaker's Conference, which will consider and
make recommendations on how to improve representation of women,
disabled, and minority ethnic people in the House of Commons, so
that it better reflects society. The Government expects the
Conference to consider other issues such as Sexual Orientation as
part of their discussions. It will operate like a Select Committee
and consist of 17 MPs from across the political parties.
Ms Harman is expected to say:
"Society has changed and
the House needs to change too. In this country, as women, we
regard ourselves as equal citizens now, yet we are not equal in
numbers in this House - we are outnumbered by men four to one.
"This country is ethnically diverse now, but out of 646
members only 15 are Black or Asian. To reflect our population we
need more than four times more Black and Asian MPs. How are we to
convince young Black and Asian men that they are genuinely
included in our society when they still see so few Black and Brown
faces on our green benches?
"There is a democratic deficit - the missing faces on the
green benches are the missing voices in this chamber.
"The House of Commons would have greater public confidence
and have more legitimacy if it was more representative of this
country as it now is. The Speaker's Conference will be a
historic step forward in the drive to bring Parliament into the
21st century."
Women make up only 19.4 per cent of MPs in the House of Commons.
This compares with women Members making up nearly half (46.7 per
cent) of the Welsh Assembly, and 34.1 per cent of the Scottish
Parliament. Black, Asian and Minority ethnic people make up about
10% of the population - but less than 3% of MPs in the House of Commons.
To reflect society, the House of Commons would need:
-More
than twice as many white female MPs
-More than twice as many
Black, Asian and minority ethnic male MPs
-More than ten times
as many BAME female MPs.
To address under-representation in the House of Commons and in
public life, the Government is:
- Changing the law to allow
political parties to use All Women Shortlists for another five
general elections until 2030;
- Going to allow employers and
public authorities to take Positive Action to address
under-representation via the Equality Bill;
- Encouraging more
minority ethnic women to become local councillors with the Black
Asian and Minority Ethnic Women Councillors taskforce;
-
Setting new targets on gender, race and disability in public
appointments;
- Giving a stronger diversity remit to the
Commissioner for Public Appointments;
- Launched a new
diversity programme with the Women's National Commission to
make sure women know about public appointments.
The Speaker's Conference will "consider and make
recommendations for rectifying the disparity between the
representation of women, ethnic minorities and disabled people in
the House of Commons and their representation in the UK population
at large. The Conference may also agree to consider other
associated matters."
The Conference was requested by the Prime Minister as part of the
'Governance of Britain' agenda. The last Speaker's
Conference was in 1977. There have only been five in the last century.
In 1916-17 the Speaker's Conference secured cross-party
agreement on the principle that women should have the right to
vote. This Conference led to the Representation of the People Act
1918, which extended the right to vote to women over 30 years old.
Notes for editors
* The Government Equalities Office is
responsible for the Government's overall strategy,
legislation and priorities on equality issues. It was established
in July 2007. The Office also has direct responsibility for policy
on gender equality, sexual orientation, and for integrating work
on race.
About the Speaker's Conference
* The Conference will be
chaired by the Speaker and will have 17 other members who will be
appointed by the Speaker. One of those members will be appointed
by the Speaker to be the vice-chairman.
* The Conference has
until the end of the Parliament to conduct its inquiry. It is
expected to report its recommendations in 2009.
* A
Speaker's Conference has been established from time to time
to enable the Government to deal with issues relating to the
franchise and electoral law. Like a select committee it meets over
a period of weeks or months, and produces a series of
recommendations for amendment of the law, or of policy.
* The
Conference is set up under the independent leadership of the
Speaker to provide a consensus which may command the support of
the country as a whole. There were five conferences in the last
century, the most recent taking place in 1977-78.
* For
further information on the history and practice of the
Speaker's Conference: http://www.parliament.uk/about/how/principal/speaker/speakers_conference.cfm