§ Sir John Biggs-Davisonasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the proportion of Roman Catholics in the Northern Ireland Civil Service; and how this compares with the proportion in each of the last 10 years.
§ Dr. BoysonIn the report of an investigation into part of the non-industrial Northern Ireland Civil Service (published in December 1983) the Fair Employment Agency for Northern Ireland concluded that, in 1980, 30.7 per cent. of staff covered were Roman Catholics. Similar information is not available for other years.
The report recommended that an information system should be established which would indicate the religious balance within the Northern Ireland Civil Service. The Government accepted the recommendation and appropriate preparatory work has been undertaken.