HC Deb 16 December 1993 vol 234 cc869-71W
Dr. Wright

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what criteria are used in the selection of the chair and the executive members of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, in respect of relevant experience and qualifications; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Atkins

The board of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive consists of 10 members, including a chairman and vice-chairman. Of these, three must be members nominated by the Northern Ireland Housing Council (a statutory advisory body made up of one representative from each of the 26 local councils). In considering appointments to the board of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive I have a responsibility to ensure that, taken as a whole, the board is balanced and reflects a mix of experience, business background and expertise to enable it to achieve the objectives for which it has been established. The work of the board, including the development of a more customer-orientated approach and appropriate business practices, means that board membership should include those with an interest in housing or related public sector policies and relevant professional, managerial and commercial experience.

(thousands)
1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 Estimated outturn 1993–94
Public Service Training Council 325 307 250 302
National Board for Nursing, Midwifery, Health Visiting for Northern Ireland 9,830 10,002 10,226 9,870
Northern Ireland Council for Post Graduate Medical Education 685 808 840 859
Mental Health Commission for Northern Ireland 295 288 281 292
Agricultural Research Institute for Northern Ireland 2,059 2,185 2,263 2,388
Agricultural Wages Board 3 4 4 4
Foyle Fisheries Commission 125 123 122 125
Northern Ireland Fisheries Harbour Authority 784 767 761 780
Arts Council for Northern Ireland 5,883 6,428 6,286 5,926
Council for Catholic Maintained Schools 846 877 923 962
Education and Library Boards (ELBs) 416,509 878,876 918,337 902,221
Northern Ireland Schools Examinations and Assessment Council 1,818 2,625 3,617 4,736
Staff Commission for ELBs 182 159 176 178
Sports Council for Northern Ireland 1,883 1,904 1,970 1,887
Ulster Folk and Transport Museum 2,709 3,591 3,885 3,544
Ulster Museum 4,439 4,177 3,734 3,646
Youth Council for Northern Ireland 1,635 1,746 1,909 1,948
Enterprise Ulster 6,671 7,581 7,206 7,684
Equal Opportunities Commission for Northern Ireland 934 1,054 1,252 1,354
Fair Employment Commission for Northern Ireland 1,519 1,690 1,983 2,473
General Consumer Council for Northern Ireland 350 377 406 361

Dr. Wright

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his Department's policy is regarding the use of executive search consultants in making appointments to public bodies; and if he will(a) list the appointments where such consultants have been used and (b) list the cost in each case since April 1992.

Sir John Wheeler

The Northern Ireland Office and Northern Ireland Departments may, in accordance with paragraphs 5.20 to 5.25 of the guide on public appointments procedures, use executive search consultants when making appointments to public bodies. To date, however, search consultants have not been used.

Dr. Wright

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which of the appointments made to public bodies by his Department since April 1992 have been advertised.

Sir John Wheeler

The following appointments have been advertisedChief Commissioner of the Planning Appeals Commission. Principal Professional Commissioner of the Planning Appeals Commission.

Dr. Wright

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will publish a table showing, at 1992–93 prices, the gross public spending for each year since 1990–91 and the projected expenditure for each year to 1995–96 for each executive non-departmental public body sponsored by his Department, as listed in "Public Bodies 1992".

Sir John Wheeler

[holding answer 15 December 1993]: Gross public spending for each executive non-departmental public body from 1990–91 to 1992–93 and the estimated outturn for 1993–94 at 1992–93 prices is shown in the table.

My right hon. and learned Friend recently announced allocations to Northern Ireland programmes for the years 1994–95 to 1996–97. Allocations to individual public non-departmental bodies will be decided over the next few months.

1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 Estimatedoutturn1993–94
Health and Safety Agency 146 166 173 157
Labour Relations Agency 1,157 1,259 1,323 1,386
Local Enterprise Development Unit 42,861 37,176 33,411 37,573
Northern Ireland Tourist Board 7,357 7,094 11,660 11,902
Ulster Sheltered Employment Ltd. 1,427 1,900 2,329 2,245
Wages Council Northern Ireland 4 5 8 7
Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company 23,213 22,880 22,288 22,584
Laganside Corporation 6,746 7,513 4,577 4,847
Northern Ireland Housing Executive 495,760 475,582 468,000 461,017
Fire Authority for Northern Ireland 40,080 39,675 40,609 41,513
Training Schools 9,063 10,081 11,062 12,022
Probation Board 7,738 8,594 9,494 9,764
Independent Commission for Police Complaints 532 622 644 693
Police Authority for Northern Ireland 471,284 522,936 566,442 592,878
Vaughan's Charity Nil Nil Nil Nil
Fisheries Conservancy Board for Northern Ireland Nil Nil Nil Nil
Pig Production Development Committee Nil Nil Nil Nil
Livestock Marketing Commission for Northern Ireland Nil Nil Nil Nil
Construction Industry Training Board Nil Nil Nil Nil
Northern Ireland Consumer Committee for Electricity Nil Nil Nil Nil
Northern Ireland Local Government Officers Superannuation Committee Nil Nil Nil Nil