HC Deb 22 March 2001 vol 365 cc338-9W
Mr. McNamara

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what reasons underlay his decision not to advertise RUC recruitment(a) on Irish state television and radio and (b) in Irish language newspapers. [152870]

Mr. Ingram

The Secretary of State did not take decisions in relation to the matter mentioned. Advertising was carried out by the police recruitment agent in accordance with the recommendation of the Patten report.

Mr. McNamara

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many(a) phone responses and (b) applications have been received in responses to the recruitment campaign for the police service; what assessment he has made of the responses in terms of (i) perceived community origin, (ii) gender and (iii) age; and what the timetable is for the implementation of the Consensia Partnership Scheme. [152867]

Mr. Ingram

The advertising campaign commenced on 23 February 2001. In the region of 20,000 requests have been received for application packs. No assessment of applications received has yet been made in respect of perceived community origin and gender. This analysis will be carried out following the closing date for the competition, which is 30 March 2001. No analysis will be made in respect of age. The Consensia Partnership aims to identify a pool of qualified applicants in September 2001, from which police trainees will be appointed.

Mr. McNamara

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland by what process the Consensia Partnership was selected to conduct police recruitment in 2001; how many staff are employed by bodies comprising the Consensia Partnership, broken down by perceived community origin of employees; and if he will make a statement. [152866]

Mr. Ingram

The Consensia Partnership responded to an Invitation to Tender in accordance with EU procurement guidelines. Information about the perceived community origin of the Partnership's employees is not available to the Government or the police. It is a condition of contract that Consensia must comply with equality of opportunity as defined in Northern Ireland law.