Lordz Lairdasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have reviewed the impact of Northern Ireland anti-discrimination and equality law since 1973; if so, on how many occasions; whether they have published the results of these reviews; and when they intend to review the impact of the Equality Commission established under the Northern Ireland Act 1998. [HL2632]
§ Lord Williams of Mostyn:Northern Ireland fair employment legislation has been reviewed on two occasions, with reviews published in October 1987 and in June 1997. As a result of these reviews two White Papers were published. Fair Employment in Northern Ireland (Cm 380) was published in May 1988 and Partnership for Equality (Cm 3890) was published in March 1998. Copies of these White Papers are available in the Library.
Following each review, the fair employment legislation was amended. In 1989 the Fair Employment (Northern Ireland) Act included the extension of the law to cover indirect discrimination in employment, the introduction of compulsory monitoring by employers and the establishment of the Fair Employment Commission and the Fair 81WA Employment Tribunal. In 1998, the Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 further strengthened the law and included the extension of coverage to goods, facilities and services.
In relation to disability discrimination law, government set up the UK Disability Rights Task Force to consider how best to secure civil rights for disabled people and its report From Exclusion to Inclusion was published in December 1999. This covered both legislative and non-legislative issues.
The Northern Ireland Executive response to these recommendations entitled Improving Civil Rights for Disabled People was published on 18 September 2001. A report on the Northern Ireland consultation was published in December 2002. The consultation document and consultation report are available on the OFMDFM website: ww.ofmdfmni.gov.uk/equality/ consultation/index.htm
Amendments to the legislation will be taken forward as necessary.
The Equality Commission's strategic objectives and performance measures are agreed by government on a tri-annual basis. The commission will shortly publish its 2003–06 corporate plan. The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland's annual business objectives and performance are monitored on an ongoing basis by OFMDFM and are reported on in the organisation's annual report and accounts which is laid before Parliament and the Assembly. Non-departmental public bodies are normally subject to review on a five yearly basis. Consideration is currently being given to such a review of the commission.
Centre 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 Armagh 17,212 17,270 18,351 18,318 19,532 Ballymena 32,173 34,245 34,284 44,460 26,340 Belfast 49,609 56,164 57,548 57,644 42,088 Coleraine 29,848 38,233 32,170 26,632 36,150 Cookstown 28,807 28,653 29,239 29,957 35,274 Craigavon 25,282 27,243 28,710 32,676 30,667 Downpatrick 19,367 20,156 19,916 21,177 20,602 Enniskillen 20,808 20,588 21,407 24,160 16,749 Larne 15,773 14,112 16,007 11,173 21,026 Lisburn 29,333 29,588 30,135 20,549 34,180 Londonderry 25,695 26,711 27,559 31,720 28,007 Mallusk 45,511 43,070 42,182 51,836 65,580 Newry 29,334 29,995 30,514 34,672 38,217 Newtownards 41,383 42,445 45,290 49,874 53,864 Omagh 18,014 18,732 18,102 20,035 32,195 Totals 428,149 447,205 451,414 474,883 500,471 The figures include all categories of vehicle for which a test is reueired and an application has been received Retests have been excluded.
The figures include a small proportion of applications for which a test certificate is not issued. These comprise tests cancelled by the applicant, applicants who fail to appear for an appointment and those who do submit for retest after failing a test.