HC Deb 16 January 2002 vol 378 c316W
16. Mr. Brazier

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on police recruitment and retention. [25609]

Jane Kennedy

Two recruitment competitions have now been launched for the Police Service of Northern Ireland, which together have attracted over 12,000 applicants, of whom over 36 per cent. were Catholic. Recruitment competitions to the Royal Ulster Constabulary which were held on an approximately annual basis attracted on average 3,000 applicants; the highest proportion of Catholic applicants in any single competition was 22.3 per cent.

During the period January to December 2000, 208 Regular and 166 Full-Time Reserve officers left the RUC under natural wastage.

The voluntary severance came into operation in January 2001 and in the period January to December 2001, a total of 1,069 Regular officers and 129 Full-Time Reserve officers left under the terms of the scheme. In the same period, a further 149 Regular and 166 Full-Time Reserve officers left under natural wastage.