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Departmental Expenditure
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list his Department's total expenditure by month in each financial year since 1997–98. [32792]
Dr. John Reid: Details of my Department's, including its agencies, total gross expenditure by month in each financial year since 1997–98:
(29) In total—unable to provide monthly breakdown for this financial year.
(30) Includes greater than £100 million for prison redundancy costs.
(31) Includes greater than £100 for police redundancy costs.
(32) Estimate.
(33) Estimate only-exact figures not known until end of financial year.
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President of the Irish Republic
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) official and (b) working visits have been carried out in Northern Ireland by the President of the Irish Republic in each year since 1990. [35306]
Dr. John Reid: Since 1990 the President of the Irish Republic has visited Northern Ireland on 75 occasions. None of the visits was classified as official visits: all were either working or private, although a number included an element of both. A breakdown of those visits by calendar year is shown in the table.
| Number of visits | |
|---|---|
| 1990 | 2 |
| 1991 | 0 |
| 1992 | 3 |
| 1993 | 1 |
| 1994 | 3 |
| 1995 | 3 |
| 1996 | 5 |
| 1997 | 3 |
| 1998 | 8 |
| 1999 | 16 |
| 2000 | 17 |
| 2001 | 14 |
| Total | 75 |
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Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the costs to the public were of each visit to Northern Ireland by the President of the Irish Republic in each year since 1997. [35333]
Dr. John Reid: Apart from the usual security requirements, any costs arising from visits to Northern Ireland by the President of the Irish Republic since 1997 were borne by the organisation visited.
Police Vehicles
Mr. Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many armour-protected police vehicles have been taken out of service in the past 12 months. [30416]
Jane Kennedy: The Chief Constable advises me that no armour protected police vehicles have been taken out of service in the last 12 months.
Section 42 Certificates
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to his answer of 12 November 2001, Official Report, column 516W, how many section 42 certificates have been issued in each year since 1976; what further consideration he has given the terms of the Devlin judgment; and how many cases involving section 42 certificates are being considered by a fair employment tribunal. [29810]
Jane Kennedy: The information pertaining to section 42 certificates is not recorded centrally but a check of our records shows that 43 certificates have been issued, in respect of 39 individuals, under section 42 of the Fair Employment (NI) Act 1976. The following table gives a breakdown by year.
| Year | Number of certificates |
|---|---|
| 1977 | 1 |
| 1978 | 3 |
| 1980 | 2 |
| 1981 | 4 |
| 1982 | 1 |
| 1983 | 1 |
| 1984 | (34)6 |
| 1985 | 2 |
| 1986 | 1 |
| 1987 | 2 |
| 1988 | 7 |
| 1989 | 1 |
| 1990 | 3 |
| 1991 | 4 |
| 1993 | 4 |
| 1994 | (34)1 |
(34) Of the certificates issued in 1984 and 1994, four were reissues.
No further certificates have been issued since 1994.
25 Feb 2002 : Column 768W
Following further consideration of the implications of the Devlin judgment, it has been decided not to seek a reference of this case to the Grand Chamber of the Court in Strasbourg.
We are aware of seven outstanding section 42 cases before a fair employment tribunal, five of which we believe are being handled by the devolved Administration in Northern Ireland.
Police Service Recruitment
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the cost was of the first and second recruitment competitions for the PSNI; and how many recruits were taken on. [29812]
Jane Kennedy: The recruitment agent is contracted to run two recruitment competitions, with the costs spread across both competitions. It is not therefore possible to quantify the costs as appointments are still being made from the qualifying pool in competition one, and the section process for competition two is not expected to be completed before the end of April. Around 300 recruits from the first competition will be appointed on a 50:50 basis.
Heads of State (Visits)
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland who decides whether a visit by a foreign head of state to Northern Ireland is categorised as (a) official, (b) private and (c) working; and what criteria are applied in each case. [35307]
Dr. John Reid: When a visiting head of state is invited by Her Majesty's Government, the visit is described as a guest of Government or official visit. Working or private visits take place on the initiative of the visitor or at the invitation of third parties.
Industrial Action
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many days have been lost owing to industrial action by staff in his Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies in each of the last four years. [36184]
Union Duties
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff in his Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies receive paid leave to undertake union duties; how many days they are allocated; and what has been the cost to public funds in each of the last four years. [36204]
Dr. John Reid: The figures are as follows:
- For Civil Servants
- In 1998, 19 staff received paid leave to undertake union duties. The total days taken were 56 at a cost of £2,511.
- In 1999, 14 staff received paid leave to undertake union duties. The total days taken were 56 at a cost of £2,348.
25 Feb 2002 : Column 769W
- In 2000, nine staff received paid leave to undertake union duties. The total days taken were 49 at a cost of £2,036.
- In 2001, 11 staff received paid leave to undertake union duties. The total days taken were 43 at a cost of £1,960.
- Local paid absence from work is granted where the duties are of a limited extent (normally for absences of up to half a day). Paid special leave may also be granted within the limit for each leave year of 15 days.
- For Prison Officers
- The Prison Officers Association has 31 staff who receive paid leave for union duties, and a full-time area chairman. The Prison Governors Association has six staff who receive paid leave for union duties.
- In 1998, staff spent a total of 7,391.30 hours on union duties at a cost of £120,478.
- In 1999, staff spent a total of 7,863.00 hours on union duties at a cost of £131,390.
- In 2000, staff spent a total of 7,066.30 hours on union duties at a cost of £122,247.
- Figures are not yet available for 2001.
- The annual facility time entitlement for the Prison Officers Association, excluding the area chairman, is 572 days. In addition, other accredited representatives are afforded time off (no set figure) for trade union activities to meet local requirements.
- The annual facility time entitlement for the Prison Officers Association is 44 days.
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