The forever failing campaign for equal opportunities in the Assembly Government

Back in November 2007 this blog's second post drew attention to the Welsh Assembly Government's poor performance in relation to equal opportunities.

Back then, an assembly government spokesperson said that applicants from ethnic minority groups had risen from 2.1% in 2005-06 to 3.7% in 2006-07. This reflected work that had been done to raise awareness of the assembly government as an employer among ethnic minority groups, the spokesperson added.

It seems that little has been done in terms of improvement.

The Western Mail has recently reported on the issue:

The Welsh Assembly Government was attacked yesterday for failing to put people from ethnic minorities in leadership positions.

The latest figures for April 2007 show just two high-ranking officials come from such backgrounds – the equivalent of 1.4% of senior management.

This is a fall on 2006, when 2.6% of such staff were in this category.

In this time the total number of ethnic minority staff working across the Assembly Government has increased by just one, from 181 to 182.

The information was revealed by First Minister Rhodri Morgan in response to requests by Conservative Assembly leader Nick Bourne.

Mark Isherwood, Tory Shadow Minister for Social Justice and Equality, called on ministers to launch a new drive to recruit more government staff from ethnic minorities.

Ron Davies, former Welsh Secretary and director of the Valleys Race Equality Council, described the findings as “very, very disappointing”.

He said that a high number of ethnic minorities live near Assembly Government headquarters but this is not reflected in staff numbers.

An Assembly Government spokesman said:

We actively pursue an equality agenda, and we are determined that everyone in Wales regardless of their race, gender, sexual orientation or disability are given every opportunity to succeed.

Why do I get the impression that the Head of Human Resources is still meeting all his targets?