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Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the statement by the current Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure in Northern Ireland, in a letter dated 11 October, that Waterways Ireland's marketing and communication director "was designated and transferred from a predecessor organisation", is correct. [HL4531]
Baroness Amos: I have nothing further to add to my Answer of 12 October 2004 (WA 50).
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
How much has been paid in overtime payments to Waterways Ireland staff who work in (a) Eire and (b) the United Kingdom, in each year since creation. [HL4607]
Baroness Amos: Waterways Ireland overtime payments were as follows:
| Period | RoI | UK |
| October to December 2002 | ||
| €400,078 | – | |
| January to December 2003 | ||
| €1,983,593 | €56,226 | |
| January to September 2004 | ||
| €1,515,473 | €69,806 |
The figures are in euros as this is the operating currency of the body. Prior to October 2002 the overtime payments for Waterways Ireland staff were made by the former Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands and they are not available.
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will ensure that the decision to erect a new headquarters for Waterways Ireland in Enniskillen will not be taken until it has been decided whether to hold investigations into alleged mismanagement; and the board's future has been settled.[HL4689]Baroness Amos: The decison to locate the headquarters for Waterways Ireland in Enniskillen was made by the North/South Ministerial Council (NSMC) on 13 December 1999.
In July 2004 the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland concluded it would be right to give effect to the NSMC decison and the project is now proceeding.
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Who is investigating claims of staff bullying at Waterways Ireland; whether all the interviews are completed; whether the investigation will cover both Eire and Northern Ireland locations and staff; and when the investigation will be completed.[HL4605]Baroness Amos: I would refer the noble Lord to my Answer of 12 October (WA 50).
The investigation has not been completed and it would therefore be inappropriate at present to make further comment.
Northern Ireland Act 1998: Section 75
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
What are the implications of Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 for government departments and agencies in their employment of sub-contractors and consultants; and, if there are implications, how are they monitored. [HL4586]
Baroness Amos: Only government departments and agencies which are classed as public authorities by virtue of Section 75(3) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 are subject to the duties set out in Section 75. Each such public authority will normally be required to produce an equality scheme which will, inter alia, state the authority's arrangements for assessing its compliance with Section 75 and assessing the impact of its policies on equality of opportunity more generally. .
Bank of Ireland
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the Equality Commission in Northern Ireland has monitored the employment policies and the religious breakdown of the employees of the Bank of Ireland; if so, what conclusions it has reached; and, if not, whether it will do so. [HL4587]
Baroness Amos: The chief executive of the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland has been asked to write to the noble Lord. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.
North/South Ministerial Council and Cross-Border Bodies: Administration Costs
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
What the annual administration costs have been since the creation of (a) the North/South Ministerial Council and (b) all cross-Border bodies. [HL4604]
Baroness Amos: Details of the annual administration costs for (a) North/South Ministerial Council Joint Secretariat; and (b) the cross-Border bodies since their creation are provided in the tables below. For the purposes of this response, administration costs have been defined as staff and accommodation costs.
| Year | £ |
| 2000 | 740,502 |
| 2001 | 1,574,270 |
| 2002 | 1,039,693 |
| 2003 | 1,025,410 |
| (b) Body | *2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 |
| £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| Foyle, Carlingford and Irish Lights Commission | 836,305 | 933,784 | 973,974 | 1,107,360 |
| Waterways Ireland | 3,692,063 | 5,843,392 | 6,450,134 | 9,386,939 |
| The Trade and Business Development Body | 537,988 | 961,286 | 1,349,746 | 1,530,941 |
| Special EU Programmes Body | 525,105 | 736,305 | 1,122,472 | 1,284,631 |
| The North/South Language Body | 1,389,299 | 1,516,584 | 1,780,976 | 2,061,449 |
| The Food Safety Promotion Board | 165,000 | 504,000 | 749,000 | 1,236,000 |
| Tourism Ireland Limited | 101,456 | 7,400,230 | 8,608,667 |
*Accounting period 2 December 1999 to 31 December 2000.
Regional Rate
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
What percentage of the domestic rates bill paid to central government is spent on water and sewerage in Northern Ireland. [HL4628]
Baroness Amos: The regional rate is an unhypothecated tax, which means that there is no specific link between it and any one particular service. Instead, the revenue raised by the regional rate is simply one component (around 6 per cent) of the total amount available to the Secretary of State for allocation to public services provided at a regional level.
11 Nov 2004 : Column WA91
Northern Ireland: District Council Buildings
Lord Kilclooney asked Her Majesty's Government:
What restrictions exist to limit the construction of new office buildings by Northern Ireland district councils, pending the completion of the current review of public administration. [HL4745]
Baroness Amos: None. Decisions on the provision of new office buildings are a matter for district councils themselves.
However, my honourable friend the Minister with responsibility for the Department of Finance and Personnel in Northern Ireland (Ian Pearson) has encouraged councils not to enter into commitments which would impose costs on present and future ratepayers, in the belief that this might influence decisions on where administrative centres in new council areas might be located, following completion of the review of public administration. The same message has been conveyed to other bodies, right across the public sector.
Home Office: London-based Employees
Lord Roberts of Conwy asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many London-based civil servants were employed in the Home Office in 1998–99; and how many are employed in the current year. [HL4395]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal): The following table provides the details of the number of London-based civil servants within the Home Office and reflects the growth caused by operational needs within the Prison Service, Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) and UK Passport Agency. In particular, additional IND caseworker capacity has been required in Croydon to handle the large increase in asylum applications and other related migration matters.
| London Staff | 1998–99 | 2003–04 |
| Home Office—Main (inc UKPS and FSS) | 5,804 | 12,792 |
| Prison Service Agency | 4,561 | 6,203 |
| Total | 10,365 | 18,995 |
Note: part-time employees are recorded according to the proportion of the full-time hours worked.
The Government remain committed to reducing the size of the Home Office headquarters by the equivalent of 2,700 posts by 2007–2008 and to transferring 2,200 posts out of London and the south-east, including planning the relocation of the National Offender Management Service headquarters to outside of London and the south-east.
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