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24 July 2006 : Column 910W—continued

Departmental Staff

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) EU foreign nationals and (b) non-EU foreign nationals have been employed in (i) each department in Northern Ireland and (ii) the Northern Ireland Office in each of the last five years; what vetting procedures are in place for each category of staff; and whether this includes liaison with foreign law enforcement agencies. [68005]

Mr. Hanson: Recruitment Service of the Department of Finance and Personnel has responsibility for providing a vetting service for all employees appointed to the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS).

The vetting process for all prospective appointees to the NICS includes a number of levels which will be determined by the nature of the duties the appointee is required to carry out. Approximately 95 per cent. of all appointees are required to satisfy a Basic Check level which consists of an identification check as well as a Criminal Record Check (CRC). The CRC, which is undertaken by the Criminal Records Division of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), identifies all instances where an individual has either been convicted of an offence or where a criminal case is pending.

A small number of posts within the NICS may require enhanced vetting. In addition to those checks carried out under Basic Check, enhanced vetting, which is undertaken by the NI Security and Vetting Unit of the NIO, includes an assessment of an applicant's credit and pecuniary history and an assessment of the individual as a security risk.

Recruitment Service does not have any direct links, or liaise in any way, with foreign law enforcement agencies, when vetting prospective recruits.

The figures for those employed by Northern Ireland Civil Service Departments within the years and the categories specified are contained within the following table.

Financial Year	2001-02		2002-03		2003-04		2004-05		2005-06
Classification	EU	Non-EU	EU	Non-EU	EU	Non-EU	EU	Non-EU	EU	Non-EU
Department
DARD	6	2	11	1	15	4	27	8	13	1
DCAL	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	0	0
DE	0	0	2	0	1	1	1	0	1	0
DEL	5	2	3	0	4	0	0	0	1	0
DETI	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
DFP	12	4	11	3	10	4	11	4	4	3
DHSSPS	2	0	2	0	2	1	1	1	1	1
DOE	0	0	3	2	7	2	21	3	11	2
DRD	5	1	13	1	11	2	8	0	1	1
DSD	18	8	15	3	15	2	18	3	11	3
OFMDFM	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
NIO	1	1	0	1	2	0	1	1	1	0
Total	53	18	60	11	69	16	89	20	46	11

24 July 2006 : Column 911W

Domestic Rates

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the simulated average effective tax rate that would notionally have been levied on domestic rates bills in respect of the (a) district and (b) regional rate in (i) Northern Ireland as a whole and (ii) each district in Northern Ireland in 2006-07. [86816]

24 July 2006 : Column 912W

Mr. Hanson: The simulated average district rate for 2006-07 is 0.00258 or £2.58 per £1,000 of capital value, while the regional rate is simulated to be 0.00340 or £3.40 per £,000 of capital value. This gives an overall average rate of 0.00598 or £5.98 per £1,000 of capital value. This estimate simulates what domestic rates would have been in 2006-07 had capital values been in place. Individual district rates are shown in the table.

Simulation of domestic capital value rates for 2006-07
	District rate (pence)	Regional rate (pence)	Total rate (pence)	Total rate per £1,000 of CV
Antrim	0.00282	0.00340	0.00622	6.22
Ards	0.00241	0.00340	0.00581	5.81
Armagh	0.00305	0.00340	0.00645	6.45
Ballymena	0.00258	0.00340	0.00599	5.99
Ballymoney	0.00257	0.00340	0.00598	5.98
Banbridge	0.00293	0.00340	0.00634	6.34
Belfast	0.00234	0.00340	0.00575	5.75
Carrickfergus	0.00280	0.00340	0.00620	6.20
Castlereagh	0.00178	0.00340	0.00518	5.18
Coleraine	0.00239	0.00340	0.00579	5.79
Cookstown	0.00237	0.00340	0.00578	5.78
Craigavon	0.00322	0.00340	0.00662	6.62
Derry	0.00320	0.00340	0.00660	6.60
Down	0.00275	0.00340	0.00615	6.15
Dungannon	0.00221	0.00340	0.00561	5.61
Fermanagh	0.00200	0.00340	0.00540	5.40
Larne	0.00307	0.00340	0.00648	6.48
Limavady	0.00300	0.00340	0.00640	6.40
Lisburn	0.00223	0.00340	0.00563	5.63
Magherafelt	0.00214	0.00340	0.00555	5.55
Moyle	0.00303	0.00340	0.00643	6.43
Newry and Mourne	0.00267	0.00340	0.00607	6.07
Newtownabbey	0.00274	0.00340	0.00615	6.15
North Down	0.00213	0.00340	0.00554	5.54
Omagh	0.00308	0.00340	0.00648	6.48
Strabane	0.00287	0.00340	0.00627	6.27
Northern Ireland	0.00258	0.00340	0.00598	5.98
Notes: 1. Based on VLA domestic revaluation data at 26 May 2006. 2. Missing or zero capital values are omitted. 3. Rates based on 2006-07 rate revenues. 4. Simulates what domestic rates would have been in 2006-07 had capital values been in place. 5. For example, the average bill for a domestic property valued at £112,000 would be: 112,000 x 0.00598 = £669.80.

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