§ Mr. William RossTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what was the perceived religious affiliation breakdown of the persons who were184W interviewed by the last promotion board of the Northern Ireland Water Service for professional and technical staff; [38097]
(2) how many persons appeared before the last promotion board for the Northern Ireland Water Service; and how many of those have since been promoted; [38138]
(3) by how much she intends to increase water charges to each class of consumer; what sums she intends to raise in total; and for what purposes such sums will be used; [38083]
(4) how many officers of each professional and technical grade are employed at Northern Ireland Water Service Headquarters; [38096]
(5) how many persons at what grades are employed in design in (a) the Northern Ireland Water Service Headquarters and (b) in each division; and from where and by whom the persons working in the divisions are supervised; [38090]
(6) if she will publish a table to show the religious affiliation breakdown of each grade of staff in each of the Northern Ireland Water Service divisions and at Northern Ireland Water Service Headquarters; [38091]
(7) what checks are carried out on claims made as to qualifications held by persons employed in each professional and technical grade and in each administrative grade in the Northern Ireland Water Service; [38092]
(8) if she will publish a table to show for each of the Northern Ireland Water Service divisions the number of (a) professional and technical officers,(b) higher professional and technical officers and (c) senior professional and technical officers employed, indicating the equivalent figures for the administration in each division and giving the dates of the last promotion board for these posts; [38093]
(9) what reports on the Northern Ireland Water Service have been published by (a) the Fair Employment Agency and (b) the Fair Employment Commission; [38094]
(10) how many persons are employed at Northern Ireland Water Service Headquarters; and at what grade. [38095]
§ Mr. Paul MurphyResponsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Water Service under its chief executive, Mr. H. R. F. Plester. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from H. R. F. Plester to Mr. William Ross, dated 7 April 1998:
I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland about Water Service staffing and charging issues.I shall answer each in the order of their receipt, and because some are very closely interlinked and worded I think it is necessary, to ensure clarity, that I should set out the question in full before each answer.1. To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what was the perceived religious affiliation breakdown of the persons who were interviewed by the last promotion board of the Northern Ireland Water Service for professional and technical staff.185WBecause of its duties of confidentiality to its staff the Department does not publish data on individual promotion competitions from which their religious affiliation could be deduced. Unauthorised disclosure of such information would constitute an offence under Section 19 of the Fair Employment (Northern Ireland) Act 1989. However, aggregated information is available in the Sixth Report of the Equal Opportunities Unit. A copy of this is available in the House of Commons Library.2. To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many persons appeared before the last promotion board for the Northern Ireland Water Service; and how many of those have since been promoted.Five people were interviewed for the post of Telemetry Operations, Supervisor Professional Technical Officer level within Northern Division and one has since been promoted into this post.3. To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, by how much she intends to increase water charges to each class of consumer; what sums she intends to raise in total; and for what purposes such sums will be used.The annual revision of the Water Service's metered water charges, paid by industrial commercial and agricultural users, and trade effluent charges paid by dischargers, has just taken place. The proposed new rates for 1998/99 are as follows:Metered Water Charges
The proposed volumetric charge for 1998/99 is 72.34 pence per cubic metre. This is an increase of 6.28% on the 1997/98 charges of 68.13 pence. The standing charges for metered supplies have not been increased. They remain within the annual charge rate of £46 for a supply pipe of 15 mm or less, up to £1502 for a supply pipe greater than 100 mm.Trade Effluent Charges
The proposed standard trade effluent charge for 1998/99 remains at the level for 1997/98. This is 37.06 pence per cubic metre. While the standard charge has not altered overall there has been re-adjustment of the components that make it up under the "Mogden Formula", which is the standard water industry methodology for calculating this charge. These charge components are reception and conveyance, volumetric treatment, biological treatment, sludge
Grade 6 PPTO SPTO HPTO PTO O'level trainee TG1 Belfast 1 3 5 23 15 6 ⋆2 Ballymena 1 3 3 2 Craigavon 1 1 6 4½ 2 Londonderry 1 4 3 3 ⋆Technical Grade 1
6. To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if she will publish a table to show the religious affiliation breakdown of each grade of staff in each of the Northern Ireland Water Service divisions and at Northern Ireland Water Service Headquarters.Because of its duties of confidentiality the Department does not publish information at the level of disaggregation requested. However, information on composition by grade at Departmental level is available in the Sixth Report of the Equal Opportunities Unit, a copy of which is in the House of Commons Library. The Northern Ireland Civil Service is an equal opportunities employer and is committed to appointment and progression on merit.7. To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what checks are carried out on claims made as to qualifications held by persons employed in each professional and technical grade and in each administrative grade in the Northern Ireland Water Service.Upon recruitment, or when gaining qualifications in-service, Water Service staff are required to submit for inspection the original certification relating to their qualifications.186Wtreatment and disposal. These adjustments could affect the bills of trade effluent dischargers upwards or downwards depending upon the volume and strength of their effluents.It is estimated that the sums raised by these charges during 1998/99 will be approximately £30 million for metered water and £3.9 million for trade effluent. These charges are levied to ensure that those businesses using these facilities pay proportionately for the services they receive and that cross-subsidisation amongst consumers is reduced. A portion of the metered water charge increase is designed to continue the phased reduction of an historic element of cross-subsidy of metered water users by regional ratepayers.4. To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many officers of each professional and technical grade are employed at Northern Ireland Water Service Headquarters.The information requested is shown in the table.
Number Grade 3 1 Grade 5 3 Grade 6 3 Principal Professional Technical Officer 7 Senior Professional Technical Officer 18 Higher Professional Technical Officer 9 Professional Technical Officer 4 Senior Principal Scientific Officer 1 Principal Scientific Officer 3 Senior Scientific Officer 3
5. To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many persons at what grades are employed in design in (a) the Northern Ireland Water Service Headquarters and (b) in each division; and from where and by whom the persons working in the divisions are supervised.Design staff are not grouped within Water Service Headquarters or within its operational Divisions. They all come under Water Service's Development Directorate and its senior level management. They are located on either a team or ½ team basis at 4 centres, Ballymena, Belfast, Craigavon and Londonderry. Each team, or½ team, is supervised by its senior officer at the location. Details of the staff by grade and location are tabled below.8.To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if she will publish a table to show for each of the Northern Ireland Water Service divisions the number of (a) professional and technical officers, (b) higher professional and technical officers and (c) senior professional and technical officers employed, indicating the equivalent figures for the administration in each division and giving the dates of the last promotion board for these posts.The information requested is shown in the table.
187W
Division PTO/executive officer 1 HPTO/staff officer SPTO/deputy principal Northern 54 2 19 2 7 1 Southern 54 2 18 2 7 1 Eastern 94 4 35 3 14 11 Western 52 2 19 2 7 1 1 Vacant The dates of the last promotion boards for these grades are as follows:
Date SPTO Civil Engineer September 1996 HPTO Civil Engineer June 1997 PTO Civil Engineer September 1996 SPTO Mechanical and Electrical August 1996 HPTO Mechanical and Electrical June 1997 PTO Mechanical and Electrical September 1996 Deputy Principal May 1992 Staff Officer May 1993 Executive Officer I September 1993
9. To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what reports on the Northern Ireland Water Service have been published by (a) the Fair Employment Agency and (b) the Fair Employment Commission.The Fair Employment Commission, which succeeded the Fair Employment Agency in 1989, has advised that it does not produce reports on individual Departments or Agencies but takes the Northern Ireland Civil Service as a whole for monitoring purposes.10. To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many persons are employed at Northern Ireland Water Service Headquarters; and at what grade.The information requested is listed below:
Professional and Technical Number Chief Executive 1 Grade 5 3 Grade 6 3 Principal Professional Technical Officer 7 Senior Professional Technical Officer 18 Higher Professional Technical Officer 9 Principal Technical Officer 4 Senior Principal Scientific Officer 1 Principal Scientific Officer 3 Senior Scientific Officer 3
Administrative Number Grade 5 2 Grade 6 0 Grade 7 6 Deputy Principal 8 Staff Officer 11 Executive Officer 1 10 Executive Officer 2 21 Administrative Officer 39 Administrative Assistant 17 Support Grade Band 1 2 Support Grade Band 2 4 Typing Manager 1 Senior Personal Secretary 1 Personal Secretary 3 Typist 6
§ Mr. William RossTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many of those promoted in each of the professional and technical grades since the last Northern Ireland Water Service promotion board fall into each religious affiliation category. [38137]
§ Mr. Paul MurphyFor reasons of confidentiality, information on religious affiliation is not published at the level of disaggregation requested. However, aggregated information on the outcome of promotion boards by188W occupational group can be obtained from the Sixth Report of the Equal Opportunities Unit, a copy of which is in the Library.