§ Mr. Robert McCartneyTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many candidates applied, in May 1997, for promotion to Civil Service Grade 7, and if she will provide a breakdown of the successful candidates by their religious background. [55542]
§ Mr. Paul MurphyA competition for promotion to Administrative Grade 7 in the Northern Ireland Civil Service was launched in May 1997. The competition is a two-stage exercise with candidates deemed eligible at the end of Stage 1 to compete in individual Departmental competitions for promotion to Grade 7. A total of 414 candidates participated in the competition and, of these, 97 were deemed eligible to participate in Stage 2 Departmental competitions. Up until 30 September 1998, a total of 53 candidates have been promoted to Administrative Grade 7 following departmental competitions. The competition will remain open until July 1999. The community backgrounds of those participating, those deemed eligible to participate in Stage 2 competitions and those successful in obtaining promotion to date are as follows:
Community background Number participating in the competition Number eligible to participate in stage 2 competitions Number successful to date (30 September 1998) Protestant 265 54 28 Roman Catholic 134 42 25 Not determined 15 1 — Totals 414 97 53