§ Lord Lairdasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord President on 10 November (WA 153), whether they exercised their discretion properly following the publication of the Patten report on policing, as regards the recommendations for reverse religious discrimination and against reverse gender discrimination; and whether reverse discrimination was necessary to recruit the Roman Catholics to the Police Service of Northern Ireland since November 2001 but not necessary to recruit the women it has recruited in the same period. [HL193]
93WA
§ Baroness AmosThe report of the Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland stated that, while a number of groups are under-represented, the issue of Catholic representation was particularly important for confidence in policing. This does not mean that the Government are neglecting the issue of female representation.
Section 48 of the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000 requires the Policing Board to make an action plan for monitoring the number of women in the service and for increasing their numbers if they are under-represented. Particular efforts have been made to increase female representation in the PSNI through targeted recruitment advertising and the organisation of familiarisation days for women.
§ Lord Lairdasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord President on 10 November (WA 154), how many police trainees were recruited in each of the competitions since November 2001; when they were recruited; and whether the Police Service of Northern Ireland met its annual recruitment targets. [HL224]
§ Baroness AmosThe number of trainees recruited and the dates on which they commenced training (their effective date of appointment) is set out in the table below. The maximum number of recruits that can pass through the PSNI college each year is 540. However, the model set out in the Patten report (paragraph 15.10) envisaged an average of 370 recruits entering training each year, and the PSNI has surpassed this figure for each year of recruitment. With 1,029 entrants appointed in a fraction over two years the annual intake is around 500, well above the Patten envisaged intake and just short of the maximum throughput of the college.
Intake Date Number of Recruits 4 November 2001 47 9 December 2001 59 20 January 2002 48 24 February 2002 59 31 March 2002 47 5 May 2002 36 9 June 2002 51 14 July 2002 41 18 August 2002 57 22 September 2002 34 27 October 2002 55 1 December 2002 47 12 January 2003 32 16 February 2003 31 23 March 2003 30 27 April 2003 54 1 June 2003 49 6 July 2003 47 10 August 2003 63 14 September 2003 43 19 October 2003 58 23 November 2003 41