Lib Dems call for action to get more diversity in top council jobs

Liberal Democrats on Bedford Borough Council have called for action to ensure that senior officers at the council are more representative of the diverse mix of people living in the Borough.

At present 90% of all staff in the top 5% paid positions are male and none are from ethnic minorities.

At the Borough Council Corporate and Resource committee on Monday 5 March, Lib Dem Councillor Paul Whitehead said more needed to be done to make sure that there are enough women and people from ethnic minorities in a position to fill top jobs when they become vacant.

"While we appreciate that the balance of the senior officers can't change until there is a vacancy, we do need to make sure that there are people from ethnic minorities and women in the next tier of management so that they are in a position to apply for a top position if one is vacated," said Cllr Whitehead.

At present councillors only see data regularly on the gender and ethnic origin balance for the council as a whole or for the top 5% of highest paid staff. "We need to see what the picture is at the next rung on the ladder as this is clearly the launchpad for getting people from more diverse backgrounds into the top positions," Cllr Whitehead added.

The latest council estimates show that 51% of people in the Borough are women and 14.5% consider themselves to be from ethnic minorities, with a further 4.8% considering themselves as white but not of British origin.