§ Mr. MaginnisTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what are the current employment statistics for the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action; to what extent they fall within the fair Employment Commission's criteria for employment; and if he will give details.
§ Mr. AncramUnder the terms of section 23 of the Fair Employment (Northern Ireland) Act 1989, all private sector organisations with more than 10 employees are required to register with the Fair Employment Commission. The Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action falls into this category. Registered employers are also required by the 1989 Act to monitor their work force annually and to carry out a review of their working practices at least once every three years.
The Fair Employment Commission's latest summary of monitoring returns which describes the position at the end of 1993 was published in March 1994. It shows that the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action had a total of 36 employees, of whom 19 were Protestant, 12 were Catholic and five were "non-determined".