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Planning Appeals Commission
Dr. McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of planning application refusals have been overturned by the Planning Appeals Commission in each local authority area in Northern Ireland in the last five years. [58131]
Angela E. Smith:
The following table shows the percentage of refusals overturned by the Planning Appeals Commission as a percentage of the total number of refusal decisions issued by the Planning Service, in each council area, between 2001 and 2005.
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Public Administration Review
Dr. McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the organisations and individuals who supported the Seven Councils option during the recent Review of Public Administration consultation process. [58125]
Angela E. Smith: The Review of Public Administration consultation process attracted 1206 responses. Of the 113 responses which indicated a preference for one of the options in the RPA further consultation document the seven council model was supported by 62 per cent. of respondents. Details of the organisations and individuals are listed as follows.
Organisations and individuals who supported the seven council model
Public Service Commission
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what (a) criteria were adopted and (b) procedures used in the appointment of the membership of the new Public Service Commission in Northern Ireland. [58184]
Angela E. Smith: The criteria used for the appointment of members of the Public Service Commission were: in an ex-officio capacity based on the their position on other relevant organisations; on the recommendation of relevant organisations; or based on their wide ranging experience of the public sector in Northern Ireland and their understanding of the Review of Public Administration.
The selection of relevant organisations reflected the importance of the Commission in working alongside existing bodies with personnel responsibilities in sectors affected by the review.
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the extent to which the proposed Public Service Commission is representative of the community in Northern Ireland in terms of gender and ethnicity; and if he will make a statement. [58185]
Angela E. Smith: The prime considerations in appointing members to the Commission were a combination of: ex-officio appointments based on their position on other relevant organisations; the recommendation of relevant organisations; or based on their wide ranging experience of the public sector in Northern Ireland and their understanding of the Review of Public Administration. As a result, no assessment of the extent to which the Public Service Commission is representative of the community of Northern Ireland in terms of gender or ethnicity has been made.
Rates (Non-payment)
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people have been convicted of non-payment of (a) domestic and (b) commercial rates in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years. [57908]
Angela E. Smith: The non-payment of rates is a civil matter and as such no ratepayer has been convicted for non-payment of rates. The following table shows the total number of court processes issued by the Rate Collection Agency together with decrees obtained from the Magistrates Court and bankruptcy orders obtained from the High Court for each of the last five years. The split between domestic and commercial ratepayers is not available.
| Recovery stage | 2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2002–03 | 2003–04 | 2004–05 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Court processes issued | 39,387 | 42,284 | 43,070 | 42,059 | 42,761 |
| Decree | 15,630 | 14,810 | 16,545 | 17,866 | 16,538 |
| Bankruptcy | 60 | 76 | 114 | 143 | 129 |
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