HC Deb 16 April 1999 vol 329 cc364-5W
Mr. McNamara

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in what form and where(a) complaints made under fair employment legislation, (b) friendly settlements and (c) decisions of the Fair Employment Tribunal are listed. [80604]

Mr. Ingram

Complaints to the Fair Employment Tribunal made under the Fair Employment legislation are entered in a public register.

Decisions of a Fair Employment Tribunal are held in a separate public register. Both registers are available for inspection at the Office of the Industrial Tribunals and the Fair Employment Tribunal.

There is no obligation on those who settle to provide or publish information on that settlement. However, settlements between the parties in cases conciliated by the Labour Relations Agency are also recorded in the decision register and the Fair Employment Commission also includes in its Annual Reports details of settlements in which it was involved.

Mr. McNamara

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assistance is available for employers to maintain a computerised record of monitoring under Fair Employment legislation and what assessment she has made of the practicality of developing a dedicated software package for these purposes. [80605]

Mr. Ingram

No assistance is currently available for employers to maintain a computerised record of monitoring under Fair Employment legislation. An assessment has not been made of the practicality of developing a dedicated software package for these purposes. However, a number of private sector concerns have developed dedicated software packages to assist employers maintain monitoring records.

Mr. McNamara

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on how many occasions in each year since 1990 the Fair Employment Commission has acted on section 33(3) of the Fair Employment Act (Northern Ireland) Act 1989 in(a) serving a notice containing directions under section 34 and (b) making an application to the tribunal under section 16. [80606]

Mr. Ingram

Since 1990 the Fair Employment Commission has not issued any notices under Section 33(3) of the Fair Employment (Northern Ireland) Act 1989 and consequently no action has been required under Section 34 to serve a notice containing directions not to make an application to the Tribunal under Section 16.

Mr. McNamara

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on how many occasions in each year since 1990(a) the Fair Employment Commission has served a notice under section 36(2) of the Fair Employment Act (Northern Ireland) Act 1989 concerning goals and timetables and (b) a person has been (i) prosecuted and (ii) found guilty of an offence under section 36(7). [80607]

Mr. Ingram

The Fair Employment Commission has not issued any notices concerning goals and timetables under Section 36(2) of the Fair Employment (Northern Ireland) Act 1989 and hence there have been no prosecutions.

Mr. McNamara

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on how many occasions in each year since 1990(a) the Fair Employment Commission has issued a notice under section 38 of the Fair Employment Act (Northern Ireland) Act 1989 stating an employer is not qualified under the Act and (b) an employer has won an appeal against such a decision. [80608]

Mr. Ingram

Since 1990 just one employer has been served with a not qualified notice under Section 38 of the Fair Employment (Northern Ireland) Act 1989. This was in 1991. Subsequently the required monitoring return was made and the notice was revoked. No employer has appealed.

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