§ Rev. Ian Paisleyasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many meetings he or officials of his Department have had with the Northern Ireland ambulance drivers' representatives; and what were the results of such meetings.
§ Mr. Carter, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 8 March 1979; Vol. 963, c. 807.], gave the following information:
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has not met representatives of the Northern Ireland ambulance drivers. 144W There are regular meetings of the Ambulance Staffs Joint Council on which two officials sit and which discusses remuneration terms and conditions of service and related matters. Also there was recently a consultative meeting between officials and ambulance drivers' representatives to consider their views on the future policy and proposed management structure for the ambulance service. The exchange of views at this meeting will be taken into consideration in the formulation of future policy and management structure.
My right hon. Friend has not received any requests for meetings with representatives of the Northern Ireland ambulance drivers.
§ Rev. Ian Paisleyasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, in view of the IRA terrorism prevailing in Northern Ireland and the special circumstances which it causes, if he will allow ambulance drivers to have a settlement outside the national arrangement.
§ Mr. Carter, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 8 March 1979; Vol. 963. c. 808], gave the following information:
No. Ambulance men in Northern Ireland already receive an additional weekly payment of £3.57 in recognition of a standby commitment required because of terrorist activity.
§ Rev. Ian Paisleyasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many ambulances are in operation in Northern Ireland; and how many hours per week on average ambulance drivers are at present on duty.
§ Mr. Carter, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 8 March 1979; Vol. 963, c. 808], gave the following information:
According to the latest figures available, there are 252 ambulances in Northern Ireland. Of these only a small number are required for accident and emergency work, which is about 10 per cent. of the total work load.
In the week ending 1 March 1979, the latest date for which information is available, ambulance drivers were on duty an average of 48 hours.