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12 Jun 2006 : Column 976W—continued

Child Support Agency

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) temporary and (b) casual staff are employed by the Northern Ireland Child Support Agency; what proportion this figure represents of all staff employed; and if he will make a statement. [76460]

Mr. Hanson: As at 7 June 2006, there are 17 temporary administrative assistants employed by the Northern Ireland Child Support Agency. This represents 0.87 per cent. of the work force.

Four of these staff provide child support services to Northern Ireland, 11 provide child support services to
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Great Britain and two provide support to their colleagues who work in front line operations.

No other temporary or casual staff are employed by the Northern Ireland Child Support Agency.

Civil Service Uniform

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will review the neutrality of civil service uniform insignia used in Northern Ireland; and if he will seek the advice of the Equality Commission on the matter. [66401]

Mr. Hanson: The design of the uniform worn by security guards and certain other staff has been reviewed as the need has arisen to replace parts of the uniform, and some changes have been made. The aim has been to modernise the uniform and to make it less formal, particularly in response to the improved security situation and the greater access by the public to areas such as the Stormont Estate and Hillsborough Castle. There are plans to look at other aspects of their uniform, including insignia, and in line with normal NICS practice this would involve consultation with the Equality Commission.

Any private sector security staff working in buildings which are part of the Workplace 2010 project will not be required to wear NICS uniforms.

Correspondence

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he will answer the letter from the hon. Member for North Down of 24 March on the impact of the restorative justice scheme. [75199]

Mr. Hanson: A response to the hon. Member was issued on 6 June 2006.

Departmental Christmas Cards

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total cost was to each Government Department in the Province of sending Christmas cards in each of the last five years. [74633]

Mr. Hanson: The costs incurred by the 11 Departments of the NI Administration and the Northern Ireland Office on the purchase and distribution of Christmas cards in the period 1 April 2001 to 31 March 2006 are set out in the following table.

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£
Department	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
DFP(1)	392	2,345	1,170	1,018	663
OFMDFM	1,657	2,253	1,067	2,558	1,178
DETI	1,929	2,125	1,570	1,357	1,276
DE	1,167	858	1,264	1,031	0
DSD	799	663	1,926	351	607
DARD(1)	1,833	1,113	629	831	1,766
DCAL(1)	2,343	726	0	0	0
DHSSPS(1)	1,878	1,808	1,712	1,844	252
DOE	686	622	686	734	561
NIO	2,939	5,341	3,922	4,355	6,121
DRD(1)	652	534	689	634	295
DEL(1)	150	308	4,527	5,334	4,457
Total	16,425	18,696	19,162	20,047	17,176
(1) Postage costs are not available for these Departments. Note: Costs for staff time or any notional charges are not included in these figures.

Emission Testing

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what (a) pre-testing and (b) other research has been carried out on the proposed diesel emission test to be introduced in Northern Ireland. [56394]

David Cairns: The Driver Vehicle Testing Agency’s equipment was purchased in 2001 as part of a PFI contract for all MOT testing equipment. Prior to finalising this contract, extensive research and trials were conducted to ensure the equipment could meet the needs of the agency and conduct a quality test fully compliant with legislation. This equipment is the same as that currently used in Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland.

Following procurement, further trials of the diesel test equipment took place in Cookstown DVTA test centre, and from this time Larne DVTA centre has offered the diesel emission test to customers on a voluntary basis.

DVTA is heavily committed to research and development, and liaises with many testing organisations worldwide to ensure best practice testing is being maintained in Northern Ireland. These experiences and advice received from other organisations that have been conducting this test for many years served to inform DVTA’s research on this matter.

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what representations he has received on the new diesel emissions test to be introduced into Northern Ireland. [56395]

David Cairns: No representations have been received on the new diesel emissions test introduced by the Driver and Vehicle Testing Agency (DVTA) on 1 March 2006.

However, DVTA has held meetings with representative bodies from the motor industry, including the Freight Transport Association, the Road Haulage Association and the Retail Motor Industry Federation. These meetings included demonstrations of the testing process and a chance for the industry to ask questions about the test and be given more information.

Healthcare-acquired Infections

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many deaths from healthcare-
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acquired infections there were within each health trust in the Province in each month of the last three years. [74667]

Mr. Hanson: It is not possible to give reliable figures on the number of deaths involving hospital-acquired infections from routinely collected mortality data, as information on whether the infection was acquired in hospital or elsewhere may not be available to the doctor certifying the death.

Mileage Allowance

Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he intends to bring the mileage allowance paid to members of the Northern Ireland Assembly into line with that paid to hon. Members of this House. [75006]

Mr. Hain: This matter is currently under consideration and I hope to make an announcement shortly. I will write to the hon. Member informing him of the outcome and will arrange for a copy of my letter to be placed in the Library of the House and sent to the Speaker of the Assembly.

Public Servants

Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what has been the change in (a) numbers and (b) percentages of those employees classified as (i) Protestants, (ii) Roman Catholics and (iii) non-determined in the (A) Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, (B) Northern Ireland Housing Executive, (C) Child Support Agency in Northern Ireland and (D) general service grades of the Northern Ireland Civil Service between 1999 and 2006. [75948]

Mr. Hanson: Information on the perceived community background of staff in the specified organisations is set out in the following table. The figures are given at 1 January 1999 and 2006 (except for the Equality Commission which only came into being on 1 October 1999) and include permanent staff but exclude those on career breaks.

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	1999		2006
	Number	Percentage	Number	Percentage
Equality Commission( 1)
Protestant	47	40	49	35
Roman Catholic	66	56	80	57
Non Determined	5	4	11	8
Total	118	100	140	100
NI Housing Executive
Protestant	1,512	50.8	1,51.6	47.4
Roman Catholic	1,392	46.7	1,652	51.6
Non Determined	75	2.5	32	1.0
Total	2,979	100	3,200	100
Child Support Agency
Protestant	502	49.6	800	44.0
Roman Catholic	471	46.5	992	54.6
Non Determined	39	3.9	25	1.4
Total	1,012	100.0	1,817	100.0
NICS General Service( 2)
Protestant	7,839	52.0	9,487	48.7
Roman Catholic	6,827	45.3	9,722	49.9
Non Determined	409	2.7	286	1.5
Total	15,075	100.0	19,495	100.0
(1) Figures given at 1 January 2000 and 1 January 2006. (2) Includes staff in the Child Support Agency.

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