§ Mr. DunnTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has for a further programme of prior options studies to be undertaken by Northern Ireland Departments and the Northern Ireland Office.
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§ Sir John WheelerI have decided, following an examination of the remaining executive activities being undertaken within the Northern Ireland civil service and the Northern Ireland Office, that prior options studies would be appropriate for each of the areas listed. These studies will determine for each area whether agency status or other options would be appropriate. Comments from interested parties will be welcome when commencement of the prior options studies is announced.
Area Study completion date DANI Forestry Service December 1995 DANI Agricultural Colleges June 1996 DANI Agricultural Development Service June 1996 DANI Veterinary Service December 1996 DFP Government Purchasing Service May 1995 DFP Recruitment June 1995 In addition, the study previously announced of possible agency status for the superannuation branches of the Department of Finance and Personnel and the Department of Health and Social Services will now be extended to embrace the teachers' superannuation branch of the Department of Education of Northern Ireland. The proposed completion date for this enlarged study is June 1995. A prior options study of the urban affairs area in the Department of the Environment was completed in December and is under consideration, and a prior options study of the Department of Economic Development's companies registry has been similarly completed. These two studies are in addition to those included in the announcement made on 18 January 1994, Official Report, columns 521–22.