§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the cost was of organising and publicising the PSNI New Directions conference; what monies were expended on external consultancies and promoters; how many persons attended, broken down by sex and perceived community background; and if he will place the major speeches and papers from the conference in the Library. [78795]
§ Mr. Paul MurphyThe costs of the PSNI's conference ("New Directions: a human rights and racial equality focus on policing with ethnic minority communities") have not yet been finalised but it is anticipated that the final costs will be approximately £60,000.
About 230 delegates attended the conference which took place on 21 and 22 October, including my hon. friend the Member and Northern Ireland Office colleague, the member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun. Community background information was not sought from delegates but a list of the organisations invited to attend is below. From the register of attendance, the gender breakdown was approximately 50:50.
Key speakers at the conference included: Hugh Orde, Chief Constable, PSNI; Lord Herman Ouseley, former Chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality; Imran Khan, solicitor; Cressida Dick, Commander, Diversity Directorate in the Metropolitan police; Joe Stewart, head of human resources for the PSNI; Ravi Chand, President of the National Black Police Association; Maqsood Ahmed, Director of Diversity for the National Probation Service; Zelda Holtzman, Deputy Provincial Commissioner of the Western Cape, South Africa; and Sam Kinkaid, Assistant Chief Constable in the PSNI with responsibility for human rights issues.
Representatives from all district command units in the PSNI were invited to attend the conference as well as representatives of the following groups:
- Al-Nisa Association of Northern Ireland
- Amnesty International
- An Garda SÍochána
- Belfast Islamic Centre
- Belfast Travellers Education and Development Group
- Belfast Travellers Support Group
- British Irish Rights Watch
- Chinese Community Association
- Chinese Welfare Association
- Committee on the Administration of Justice
- Craigavon Vietnamese Club
- Concept 11
- Council of Europe
- Director of Public Prosecutions
685W - Equality Commission of Northern Ireland
- Indian Community Centre
- Mediation Northern Ireland
- Mid-Ulster Group
- Multi-cultural Resource Centre
- National Black Police Association
- Northern Ireland African Cultural Centre
- Northern Ireland Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders
- Northern Ireland Council for Ethnic Minorities
- Northern Ireland Council for Refugees and Asylum Seekers
- Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action
- Northern Ireland Filipino Association
- Northern Ireland Gay Rights
- Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission
- Northern Ireland Office
- Northern Ireland Pakistani Association
- Northern Ireland Policing Board
- Northern Ireland Victim Support
- Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister—Racial
- Equality Unit
- Office of the Oversight Commission
- Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland
- Traveller Movement of Northern Ireland
- Wah-Hip Chinese Community Association
- Women of the World
A conference report is being compiled which will contain any materials submitted by speakers and participants. This will be made available on the PSNI website in due course and a copy will be placed in the Library.
§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what consultancy fees(a) the Policing Board, (b) The RUC/PSNI and (c) the Northern Ireland Office have paid in (i) 2000 and (ii) 2001 and to which companies; what the purpose was of the consultancy contracts; and what estimates he has made of consultancy fees for the next two financial years. [78145]
§ Mr. Paul MurphyI will write to my hon. Friend. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.