§ Mr. Robert McCartneyTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many candidates who entered the 1999 Civil Service grade 7 competition were(a) male Protestants, (b) female Protestants, (c) male Roman Catholics and (d) female Roman Catholics; and how many in each of the above categories were successful at stage 1. [111084]
§ Mr. IngramA competition for promotion to Administrative Grade 7 in the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS) was launched in September 1999. 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 437 candidates participated in Stage 1 of the competition and of these 131 were deemed eligible to participate in stage two departmental competitions. The gender/community background of those candidates who entered the 1999 competition and those who were successful at stage 1 is as follows:
Protestant Roman Catholic Not Determined Total Candidates who entered the Stage 1 Competition Male 194 100 16 310 Female 61 57 9 127 Total 255 157 25 437 Candidates who were successful at Stage 1 Male 55 26 2 83 Female 21 22 5 48 Total 76 48 7 131