§ Mr. MaginnisTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the average length of service of all full-time Royal Ulster Constabulary reserve officers presently serving in the force.
§ Mr. CopeThe average length of service of all full-time reserve officers presently serving in the Royal Ulster Constabulary is six years.
§ Mr. MaginnisTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the estimated cost to the Exchequer, taking into account all factors including their position in respect of the police pension fund, of employing(a) a full-time Royal Ulster Constabulary reserve officer and (b) a regular Royal Ulster Constabulary officer.
§ Mr. CopeThe annual cost to the Police Authority of employing a full-time Royal Ulster Constabulary reserve constable or a Royal Ulster Constabulary constable varies according to the age of the officer and his length of service. The estimated annual average cost of employing an 18-year-old constable in the full-time Royal Ulster Constabulary reserve is £18,624 and £18,068 for a constable in the Royal Ulster Constabulary. The corresponding figures for officers with six years' service are £23,592 for the reserve constable and £23,837 for the regular officer. The difference in cost is accounted for by higher employer's national insurance contributions payable in respect of the full-time reserve constable who is not in a contracted-out pension scheme; and the fact that his salary increases at a slower rate than that of a regular constable. These costs represent basic salary, Royal Ulster18W Constabulary allowance, flat rate rent allowance, average overtime and employer's national insurance contributions and, in the case of the Royal Ulster Constabulary reserve officer with six years' service, the gratuity payable on completion of his second contract.
§ Mr. MaginnisTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the longest period of service of any full-time Royal Ulster Constabulary reserve officer; how many Royal Ulster Constabulary reserve officers have served for more than 12 years; how many between nine and 12 years; and how many between six and nine years.
§ Mr. CopeThe longest period of service of any full-time Royal Ulster Constabulary reserve officer is 17 years nine months: 256 full-time reserve officers have served for more than 12 years; 947 have service between nine and 12 years; and 685 have served between six and nine years.
§ Mr. MaginnisTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the total number of full-time Royal Ulster Constabulary reserve officers; and if he will express this as a percentage of all Royal Ulster Constabulary constables who normally carry out their duties in uniform.
§ Mr. CopeAt 31 December 1989 the total number of full-time Royal Ulster Constabulary reserve officers was 3,018. This represents approximately 28 per cent. of all constables in the Royal Ulster Constabulary and Royal Ulster Constabulary full and part-time reserve.
§ Mr. MaginnisTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans the Government have(a) to provide access for full-time Royal Ulster Constabulary reserve officers to the police pension fund and (b) to approve the payment of an employers' contribution to a private pension scheme for full-time Royal Ulster Constabulary reserve officers.
§ Mr. MaginnisTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans the Government have to incorporate full-time Royal Ulster Constabulary reserve officers into the regular force after a specific period of service.
§ Mr. MaginnisTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what system of negotiation, conciliation or arbitration exists for full-time Royal Ulster Constabulary reserve officers; and what are the rules under which this system operates.
§ Mr. CopeThere is no formal system of negotiation, conciliation or arbitration but before the Secretary of State makes regulations about pay and conditions of service for the RUC reserve he consults the Police Authority, the Chief Constable and the Police Association.
§ Mr. MaginnisTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether full-time Royal Ulster Constabulary reserve officers are(a) precluded from negotiating their conditions of employment, pay, pension, etc. under the normal terms of industrial relations legislation and (b) excluded from the joint police negotiating board of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
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§ Mr. CopeRUC reserve officers, like their fellow officers in the regular force, do not come within the terms of industrial relations legislation. The RUC reserve is not included within the remit of the police negotiating board for the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. MaginnisTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the Government have any plans to replace or modify the present short-term contract system of employment for full-time Royal Ulster Constabulary reserve officers.
§ Mr. MaginnisTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the Government intend to replace or amend the system of negotiation, conciliation or arbitration for Royal Ulster Constabulary reserve officers.