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5 Jul 2004 : Column 531W—continued
Bloody Sunday Trust/Pat Finucane Centre
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much public funding has been allocated to (a) the Bloody Sunday Trust in Londonderry and (b) the Pat Finucane Centre in Londonderry in each of the last five years. [180977]
Mr. Spellar: Public funding has been allocated to (a) the Bloody Sunday Trust in Londonderry and (b) the Pat Finucane Centre in Londonderry in each of the last five years as follows:
| (a) Bloody Sunday Trust | (b) Pat Finucane Centre | |
|---|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | 58,700 | 412 |
| 2000–01 | 26,065 | 1,950 |
| 2001–02 | — | 3,000 |
| 2002–03 | — | 2,964 |
| 2003–04 | — | 2,050 |
CCTV
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which town centres in Northern Ireland have CCTV systems in operation. [182088]
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Mr. Spellar: At present there are 17 town centre CCTV systems operating in Northern Ireland, which have received assistance from public funds. The relevant cities and towns are:
Armagh
Ballymena
Ballynahinch
Banbridge
Belfast
Coleraine
Craigavon
Dungannon
Dunmurry
Fivemiletown
Hillsborough
Lisburn
Londonderry
Moira
Moy
Omagh
Portadown
Assistance from public funds has also been given to two further systems in Maghera and Magherafelt, which are expected to become operational shortly. Finally, I have recently agreed to provide funding to Newtownabbey borough council to assist with the establishment of a new CCTV system in Glengormley town centre.
There may be other town centres which have had CCTV cameras installed, without assistance from central Government and we would not be aware of the full extent of such systems.
On 14 June 2004, I announced that Government had made available a further £2 million to assist with the development of CCTV in Northern Ireland, including funding for the development of new town centre systems as well as the expansion and enhancement of current systems.
Civil Servants (Industrial Action)
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many recipients of incapacity benefit in Northern Ireland are waiting for overdue payments from the Department for Social Development. [180804]
Mr. Spellar: It is not possible to quantify the number of cases affected at any given time, except at disproportionate cost.
However priority is always given to maintaining continuity of payment to existing incapacity benefit customers. There will, however, always be cases in the system where payment may be overdue, for example, while awaiting receipt of medical evidence or information from the customer.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many applications for incapacity benefit have been delayed because of the current industrial action by civil servants. [180805]
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Mr. Spellar: In the period December 2003 to March 2004 staff responsible for the processing of applications for incapacity benefit participated in various forms of industrial action; overall about 720 man-days were lost.
There has been no industrial action affecting this area of work since then and at present there should be no cases where payment has been delayed due to industrial action.
As a result of training and the implementation of a new computer system, the new applications in hand have increased from a normal workload of 2,600 fresh claims to 3,700 for the week ending 25 June 2004. In May 2004 incapacity benefit branch performance for fresh claims was 31 days against a target of 28, and the year to date performance was 30 days.
A recovery plan has been in operation with the result that the number of outstanding applications for incapacity benefit should be at normal levels by August 2004. This situation is being closely monitored.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many recipients of incapacity benefit have had payments delayed as a result of the current industrial action by civil servants. [180806]
Mr. Spellar: In the period December 2003 to March 2004 staff responsible for the processing of applications for incapacity benefit participated in various forms of industrial action; overall about 720 man-days were lost.
There has been no industrial action affecting this area of work since then.
Priority is always given to maintaining continuity of payment to existing incapacity benefit customers. There will, however, always be cases in the system where payment may be delayed, for example, while awaiting receipt of medical evidence or information from the customer.
It is not possible to quantify the number of cases affected at any given time, except at a disproportionate cost to the Department.
At present there should be no cases where payment has been delayed due to industrial action.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many cases awaiting determination of an (a) employment and (b) industrial tribunal have been delayed as a result of the current Civil Service industrial action. [180811]
Mr. Gardiner: All cases awaiting determination have been delayed as a result of the current civil service industrial action. The Industrial Tribunals and Fair Employment Tribunal cases listed for hearing from week commencing 24 May 2004 through to week commencing 5 July 2004 have been postponed at the Tribunal's own motion and will be rescheduled as soon as possible. These postponements have a knock-on effect on other cases awaiting determination.
Civil Service Recruitment
Mr. McGrady:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he, his Ministers and Officials have
5 Jul 2004 : Column 534W
had in 2004 with the Northern Ireland Civil Service Commissioners regarding (a) recruitment competition SC/18/03 and (b) nationality requirements. [180120]
Mr. Pearson: The selection procedures for all Senior Competitions (including competition SC/18/03) are quality assured by the Northern Ireland Civil Service Commissioners. The Commissioners' Office formally approve the recruitment documentation prior to advertising, following receipt of applications, following interviews and prior to formal offer of appointment.
At a meeting between senior officials and the Northern Ireland Civil Service Commissioners in April there was discussion on the Commissioners' remit in respect of nationality requirement for the public service posts within the Northern Ireland Civil Service.
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people have been ruled ineligible in 2004 for advertised posts in the Northern Ireland Civil Service on the grounds that they (a) are not UK nationals and (b) are Irish nationals. [180121]
Mr. Pearson: Three candidates were ruled ineligible for advertised posts in 2004 on the grounds that they were not UK nationals. Of these, one was identified as an Irish national.
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many advertised posts have been reserved in the Northern Ireland Civil Service in 2004. [180122]
Mr. Pearson: 34 NICS posts advertised in 2004 (to date) were reserved.
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his estimate is of the cost of running Civil Service competition SC/18/03, including the time spent by officials and others on this competition; and what the costs were in respect of posts for which appointments were not made. [180123]
Mr. Pearson: The costs for competition SC/18/03 were:
| £ thousands | |
|---|---|
| Advertising Costs | 21,024 |
| Travel and Subsistence Costs | 1,500 |
| £ thousands | |
|---|---|
| Recruitment Service Costs (Based on Average Salary Figures) | 2,295 |
Only one of three posts was filled from this competition.
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what appointments have been made in the Civil Service competition SC/18/03; and in the cases where appointments have not been made, why that is the case. [180124]
Mr. Pearson:
This competition resulted in one of three posts being filled. The competition did not attract candidates of sufficient calibre to fill all the posts.
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Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Newry and Armagh (Mr. Mallon), Official Report, column 421W, on the Northern Ireland Court Service, how many (a) Reserved and (b) Non-Reserved posts were advertised by the Northern Ireland Civil Service in each of the last five years in grades equivalent to those for which posts were Reserved in the Northern Ireland Court Service. [180195]
Mr. Pearson: The Northern Ireland Civil Service has advertised 132 competitions in the last five years at grades equivalent to those for which posts were Reserved in the Northern Ireland Court Service. Of these competitions, 105 were designated Non-Public Service (ie Non-Reserved) and 27 were designated Public Service (ie Reserved). The following table details the competitions advertised annually:
(15) One competition (Public Expenditure Posts) required candidates to satisfy the requirements for a Reserved (Public Service) post. Successful candidates were however taken from this competition to fill vacancies in both Reserved (Public Service) and Non-Reserved (Non-Public Service) posts.
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