§ Mrs. Iris RobinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people have approached the Fair Employment Commission in each of the last five years; how many cases were taken on by the Fair Employment Commission in each year; how much compensation was paid out by the Fair Employment Commission in each year; how much money was invested in the construction of the new Fair Employment Commission headquarters; and what assessment he has made of whether the Fair Employment Commission has sufficient funding to fulfil its obligations in the current year. [84450]
§ Mr. BrowneThe Equality Commission for Northern Ireland was established on 1 October 1999. It assumed the functions of the former Fair Employment Commission, Equal Opportunities Commission, Commission for Racial Equality for Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Disability Council. It also has additional functions in relation to disability discrimination and the duties on public authorities under section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act.
The following table provides the number of inquiries made on Fair Employment issues and the number of cases supported by the Fair Employment Commission/ Equality Commission for Northern Ireland.
Inquiries on Fair Employment issues and Cases Supported by the Fair Employment Commission and Equality Commission for Northern Ireland Year Inquiries Cases supported 1998–99 (FEC) 1,813 144 1999–2000 (FEC and ECNI) 1,296 123 2000–01 (ECNI) 1,106 142 2001–02 (ECNI) 901 289 2002–03(ECNI) 304 213 1 For the period up to end November 2002. 2 Applications for legal support across all grounds, received between April and July 2002, were not processed pending the development of a revised Legal Enforcement Policy and Assistance Strategy. These cases are now being processed by ECNI. Neither the Equality Commission, nor its predecessor, the Fair Employment Commission, is empowered to pay compensation and therefore none was paid. The Equality Commission is a tenant in Equality House. The building is rented under a 10-year 740W lease agreement. The interior fit out of the building cost £1,570,701.98 (excluding VAT) and this cost is rentalised to the Commission over a 10-year period. The Equality Commission's budget for the current financial year was £6.7 million. Resourcing the Commission is kept under review and it has recently been awarded an increase of £113,000 for new activities.