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Public Appointments (Women)

Ms Jowell: To ask the Prime Minister how many appointees to public offices in the list of public appointments were women for each year since 1990; and what proportion these represented of the total for each office. [18249]

The Deputy Prime Minister [holding answer 4 March 1996]: I have been asked to reply.

Information about the annual number of women appointed to public office is not maintained centrally. However, it is known that in 1990 and 1991, women held 23 per cent. of the total number of appointments

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to public bodies. In October 1991, at the launch of Opportunity 2000, my right hon. Friend announced a Government initiative aimed at increasing this figure further. Good progress has been made and the percentage of such posts held by women, at 1 September 1995, is 30 per cent. The following table gives the figures for the intervening years:

	Total number of	Held by women
	public appointments	Number	Per cent.
1990	44,057	10,256	23
1991	39,122	9,135	23
1992	41,011	10,701	26
1993	42,606	12,007	28
1994	42,876	12,686	30
1995	40,170	11,898	30

European Courts

Mr. David Porter: To ask the Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the advantages and disadvantages to the United Kingdom of membership of (a) the European Court of Justice and (b) the European Court of Human Rights; and by what mechanism the United Kingdom can withdraw from membership of each. [17766]

The Deputy Prime Minister [holding answer 4 March 1996]: I have been asked to reply.

Accepting jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice is an essential element of European Union membership, the advantages and disadvantages of which have been discussed many times in this House. The UK could withdraw from the jurisdiction of the ECJ only by withdrawing from the EU.

Our policy in respect of the European convention on human rights was set out by my hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on 13 December 1995, Official Report, column 647.

Northern Ireland

Mr. Stott: To ask the Prime Minister if his negotiations with the constitutional parties in Northern Ireland to determine the electoral process will include the Progressive Unionist party and the Ulster Democratic party. [18943]

The Deputy Prime Minister [holding answer 5 March 1996]: I have been asked to reply.

Letters of invitation to the round of intensive consultations with the parties were sent on 28 February and the leaders of the Progressive Unionist party and the Ulster Democratic party were among the recipients.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Employment (Irish Nationals)

Mr. William Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the number of persons resident in the Irish Republic who work in Northern Ireland, broken down by gender; how many of each sex are employed in each sector of the economy; and how many are employed in each council area. [18224]

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Mr. Ancram: The information requested is not available.

Watercourse Management

Mr. Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has for the future organisation of the watercourse management division of the Department of Agriculture. [19739]

Sir Patrick Mayhew: Having recently completed the prior options study which was announced to Parliament on 20 July 1994, Official Report, columns 341-42, the Government have decided that the watercourse management division should become a next steps agency from 1 October 1996.

The division is responsible for the provision of flood defence and river drainage systems and for promoting the sustainable development of inland navigation and water recreation facilities.

Making the watercourse management division a next steps agency will give it the flexibility to operate within a framework of appropriate efficiency targets and performance indicators, while remaining a part of the Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland.

Inward Investment

Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many inward investment projects have settled in Northern Ireland as a result of guidance given by the Invest in Britain Bureau over the past three years; and if he will make a statement. [17732]

Mr. Ancram: I am not aware of any inward investment projects having settled in Northern Ireland over the past three years as a result of guidance given by the Invest in Britain Bureau.

School Teachers

Mr. Robert McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will request the Irish Republic's Minister for Education to extend to secondary school teachers her concession on Northern Ireland trained primary school teachers without an Irish language qualification; and if he will seek legal advice on whether the Scrudu Cailiochta sa Ghaeilge requirement breaches European employment law. [18521]

Mr. Ancram: These are matters for the Irish Government.

Mr. McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what legal advice he has taken on the compliance of a decision to end the exemption in the Fair Employment Act permitted for the appointment of school teachers with article 2 of the first protocol to the European convention on human rights. [18522]

Mr. Ancram: No legal advice has been taken regarding this issue.

Census Questions

Mr. Robert McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make representations to the Home Secretary to include a question about Ulster origin in the pilot census on a question on Irish origin. [18523]

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Sir John Wheeler: As part of the Great Britain small-scale census question testing programme, it has been decided to test various changes to the ethnic origin question, including incorporating a separate Irish category. To date, no case has been made by users to classify people from Ulster separately and therefore this is currently not being considered.

Mr. McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what consideration is being given to (a) including an ethnic origin question and (b) re-wording the religious affiliation question in the Northern Ireland census; and if he will make a statement. [18524]

Sir John Wheeler: It is planned that an ethnic origin questions will be tested in the 1997 census in Northern Ireland. The wording of all census questions, including a religious affiliation question, will be subject to review before final decisions are made. The finalised census question will be laid before Parliament by way of a Northern Ireland Order in Council, before the census.

Orders in Council (Debate)

Mr. Robert McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list those Orders in Council requiring an affirmative resolution of the House that have been debated in a Standing Committee on Delegated Legislation to date; from what date the current procedures in respect of (a) Orders in Council and (b) consideration in Standing Committees commenced; and which orders he intends to be debated in a Standing Committee in the current Session of Parliament. [18525]

Sir John Wheeler: The Northern Ireland Act 1974 enables the Government to legislate for Northern Ireland by way of Order in Council. In December 1994, the House agreed that all affirmative statutory instruments would be referred automatically to a Standing Committee, but could be de-referred on a Government motion, with the Government acceding to any reasonable Opposition request for de-referral. This was initially on an experimental basis but was incorporated into Standing Orders at the start of the current Session.

Since then, the following Northern Ireland Orders in Council have been debated in Standing Committee--prior information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost;

Orders in council under the Northern Ireland act 1974 debated in Standing Committee

	Date of debate in Standing Committee
Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) (NI) Order	16 February 1995
Fair Employment (Amendment) (NI) Order	22 February 1995
Children's Evidence (NI) Order	28 February 1995
Wildlife (Amendment) (NI) Order	28 February 1995
Historic Monuments and Archaeological Objects (NI) Order	9 May 1995
Arts Council (NI) Order	7 June 1995
Armagh Observatory and Planetarium (NI) Order 1995	8 June 1995
Trade Union and Labour Relations (NI) Order 1995	4 July 1995
Road Traffic (NI) Order 1995	17 October 1995
Police (Amendment) (NI) Order 1995	18 October 1995
Financial Provisions (NI) Order	1 November 1995
Street Works (NI) Order 1995	28 November 1995
County Courts (Amendment) NI Order	29 November 1995
Education (NI) Order	7 December 1995
Gas (NI) Order	17 January 1996
Business Tenancies (NI) Order	7 February 1996
Juries (NI) Order	28 February 1996

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The question of whether a forthcoming Order in Council should be debated in Standing Committee will be settled when it arises.

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